THE NEWCOMER
PROLOGUE
The teenage boy unsheathed the short sword from his hip and swung the blade at the dragon before him. He unsheathed a lengthy dagger and continued his attack. On his second swing with the sword, it went flying. The dragon lashed out with its claws and the young boy parried with his dagger. His blade snapped as the claw connected with it, and was snapped in half. He dropped the hilt of the ruined dagger and clutched the sword in both hands. The dragon lashed out once more and he parried with his stronger weapon. He reached and unsheathed the other sword still sheathed on his other hip and ripped it from the cracked leather scabbard. He now had one sword in each hand, parrying each blow and striking out while he defended.
He brought the two swords in an arc over his head and caught the dragon on the back. Sparks went flying, as did one of the blades. He leapt upon the great beast's back and slipped the sword under the neck of his opponent.
"HA! I finally won Aeglor, I finally won!" The thirteen-year-old boy exclaimed.
"Yesss, yesss you did. Hatchling, tell me how you won," The dragon said as a cold smile crossed his scaly lips.
"Well, I think it is because of all the trainin' that we have been doin', but I'm not sure. Do you know how I won?" the boy asked inquiringly.
"Yesss, I do. The reassson you won Hatchling isss that you have a gift for sssword play. You have become increasssingly deft with the sssword and train vigorousssly. Being an Animagi of many formsss helpsss alssso young one. Your life in America would not have allowed you to openly do thisss training would it?" Aeglor stated.
"ANCELLIUS!!!" a voice yelled from the bottom of the mountain that they were standing upon.
"Father up on top!" Ancellius yelled, paling in comparison to his father's booming voice.
"Ah, what have you been doing up here all the time?" His father asked as he broke over the crest of the mountaintop.
"Training with Aeglor."
"And who in the hell is Aeglor?" His father asked skeptically.
"He is." Ancellius said as he pointed to the dragon standing behind him.
"Holy Mother of God!" His father exclaimed.
"Pleassse calm him down Ancelliussss; he isss giving me a headache." Aeglor said as he set his great bulk softly on the ground, head on forelegs.
"Ok, but he might get frightened by me being a ParselTongue. I mean I am the first one in twelve generations." Ancellius said as he laughed along with Aeglor, which seemed like a threatening growl to Ancellius's father.
"What in the hell was that?" His father asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"Father, I am a ParselTongue. You remember what that is don't you?" Ancellius asked his father as he hissed something to Aeglor.
"Yes, but how? You can't be, well you could but you can't be. There hasn't been one in our family in twelve generations, and Merlin was that one." His father babbled, obviously nervous about his son's gift.
"Well, I guess it just skipped some generations. And father?" "Yes?" His father asked, obviously shaking now.
"I am also a Magi, Animaga, and have a natural talent for sword play. Is there something wrong?" He asked the last worriedly.
"You- you- you are like Merlin Himself. Animaga have more than one form correct? Animagi have one and only one right?"
"Yes, but..."
"You are truly the descendant of Merlin. What forms do you posses in your Animaga magic?" He asked excitedly, interrupting his son.
"Griever is my most powerful one, but I think that it is a natural form. I mean I was able to become that right off. What is wrong with you dad?" Ancellius asked, dropping the accent he had been forced to acquire when the American Wizard Society had sent assassins to kill the boy, and failed horribly.
"You are the one in the prophecy. Born on the 26th of March, on an Easter Sunday. You are the only one that fits it. Animaga, Mage, wizard, and swordsman, you are the Chosen one. You will decide whether there will be good or evil. But, you cannot be the one. Merlin himself must have put his magic into the one whom he thought the most sensible to confront the sources of good and evil.
"You are the one and only that will decide whether or not the world lives on, for you alone will be able to live if all else perish. You must think of this my son; even the great Harry Potter does not have your power. You would be a match for Merlin."
Father why must you bring this up to me now? I need not face those horrors until I am of age. And although that is coming up fast, I still have five years before I turn sixteen. Ancellius said the argument in his head, for saying it aloud would condemn his father to a life of misery and denial of his coward son.
"It is also time for dinner, let us tell your mother." His father said excited.
"NO!" Ancellius bellowed with such force that even Aeglor's covered ears rang with the shock of the boy's flaring anger. "You mustn't tell mother, we cannot survive as it is on the money that the International Wizard Protection Agency gives us. They want us to keep a low profile, and that includes dying in poverty. Well, I WILL NOT HAVE IT!" He bellowed as he ran to the cliff's edge and leapt.
Aeglor roared and also leapt from the cliff. He had his wings folded to his sides and caught Ancellius at the last moment as he snapped his wings open and snagged the boy from death's grasp.
"Why did you do it son?" Ancellius's father cried as he was deposited on the mountaintop once more.
"I cannot stand to see you and mother suffer; and now you bring me the news that I am the Chosen one to lead the world to order, or bring about a new world order. I must leave." Ancellius said as he changed to Griever, a fifty-foot tall, hundred foot long lion with midnight black fur and feathered wings. He had a horn spiraled like that of a unicorn, but his was the color of coagulated blood. A dark crimson. His mane was the same and so was the tuft at the end of his tail. His claws were as black as his coat and his teeth so white they blinded those without eyes. His eyes burned like a bloody fire and seared those who defied him.
The great lion leapt into the sky and soared away from the dragon and his father so fast that his father only had time to collapse on the ground in shame,
I know that I will regret this, but I must run for now. I must train for this battle that I am supposed to take part in. I do not know whether I will choose good, evil, or just make a caste of my own. The Griever's Order. Yes, that is what I will call it. No good, no evil, just plain people living in peace. Ancellius said to himself as the beast that he was smiled, showing the two-foot long canine teeth.
He landed on a rocky ledge and quickly changed. He walked steadily on his own two feet into a cave that was on that small ledge that he had landed upon. Unfortunately, the cave already seemed to be inhabited. There was a hot breath coming from the back of the cave, making him sweat profusely. He stripped to his boxers revealing a scarred body. He continued toward the back of the cave as he dropped his pants and withdrew the two swords with which he had been training.
"Is there anyone here?" He asked first in English. "Does anyone inhabit this cave?" He asked in Parsle Tongue and got a reply.
"Yesss. I, one of the Romanian Knight Dragons inhabit thissss cave." A silky, yet cold voice said from the shadows. "I have been waiting for you Sssir Lancelot. You are to be tesssted here and now. Are you ready?" The voice asked in a monotonous voice.
"Yes, what is my test?" Ancellius asked, not at all bewildered at the use of the famous knight's name in place of his own. That is after all, who he was named after.
"The elemental test. To decide whether you are worthy to live among the dragons. You will be tested upon Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, holy, Darkness, Gravity, Thunder, Life, and that of the animals. Are you ready for the first task?" The voice said as a human stepped from the shadows and spoke clearly in English.
"You are not a dragon. You are not human either though. What are you?"
"Guardian of the dragons. I take the form of any type of dragon that I choose, and I can speak with them as you do. Now, are you ready for your test?" The man/beast asked.
"Yes." Ancellius said in a serious tone.
"Very well. ATTACK!" The man bellowed in the small cave and a spurt of fire enveloped the boy. Raucous laughter followed the blast and the man said, "You were not wort..." but was interrupted as the fire was pleasantly absorbed by Ancellius.
"Griever? We are one?" Ancellius asked himself as ancient knowledge flooded his being and he turned his palm toward the man/beast and let fly a light spurt of flame. The boy walked from the cave and was then attacked by a number of other dragons, including the rare, Japanese White Oracle Dragon, the German Phoenix Dragon, the Romanian Knight Dragon, the type that Aeglor was, a Chinese Warrior Dragon, and an American Gatekeeper Dragon. The attacks combined in the middle of the air and pushed the small boy toward the cliff. His legs steadied as the energy of the attacks was drained, then assimilated into the boy.
"Dragon Master!" The dragons bellowed in a clear voice, their natural lisp gone. "Behold Sir Lancelot, Dragon Master and Champion!" The dragons bellowed in the same voice for all to hear.
"I am not a Dragon master, my other form simply controls all elements. I am not your Master or Champion. I am just a boy." Ancellius said, but gave up as he thought about the idea.
"We will follow you Sir Lancelot. What do you ask of us?" The rarest dragon of all, the German Phoenix Dragon, asked.
"Can I have the scales that you have ever shed?"
"May we ask why benevolent one?"
"Armor, clothing, weapons, shields, and robes. And containers. I heard that almost nothing can destroy a dragon's scale and that is has magical powers, am I mistaken?"
"No. You have heard correctly, but how do you plan to use them all?"
"Melt them down with my mage fires, the elemental fire and all of yours if you are willing." Ancellius said as he looked upon the crowd around him. A moment later, the dragons had all disappeared and then reappeared in just a few moments.
"Go to the fire mountain, we have deposited them all there. You will find a great hole in the ground turned into what you humans called metal. There you can melt them all down but we refuse to help you. You should make the items yourself, if you want them at their strongest. If a dragon helps a human make something of its scales, then it loses all power." The white Oracle dragon said in a very soft voice.
"Ok, I understand. The fire mountain to the north or east?"
"The east O great one." The Phoenix dragon said. As all the other dragons left t their business the Phoenix Dragon stepped up and bowed it's head to Ancellius. "May I bestow a gift upon you?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"My name is Phoenix Song, and the gift I wish to give you is a spirit stone. It gives us our magic, and very few mortals ever get one. It resides in our foreheads, and I wish to bestow you with one of your own if I may?"
"Yes, please do, I have always preferred the company of things other than human. Humans are assholes, and they have no real pride."
"There are side-effects, but if you would rather wait for the transaction, I will."
"Please, I care not for side-effects."
"Very well." The dragon said as he put his spirit stone to Ancellius's forehead and a brief flash of pain seared his head and then pure ecstasy. A stone that looked as if it contained a black cloud with streaks of crimson lightning appeared on the boy's head and he fell to the ground.
"Wow!"
"Yes, I have been told by Merlin that it is a very painful yet pleasurable experience. Do you wish for the side-effects?"
"Yes." He said as he rubbed the stone, listening to it thrum under his hand.
"After two years, that stone will develop into either one or two horns, you will sprout wings, either leathery like that of a normal dragon, or feathery like mine. You will grow a tail and your fingers will have retractable claws. Do you wish you had not accepted the gift now?" Phoenix Song asked the changed boy.
"No."
"There is more. You will grow more muscles than imagined in a human, and your intelligence will increase exponentially, If you are not worthy of the powers, or abuse it you will be driven mad and die within three days of your madness. Do you still accept it?"
"Yes."
"With this stone, you will be able to practice Dragon Magick and teleport as we do. Do you still accept it?"
"Yes, I thank you my great friend." Ancellius said as he hugged the dragon. "I bid you farewell. If I am to make my things I will need to work long and hard to practice and work out the kinks. I thank you again my friend." Ancellius said as the great dragon popped out from under his arms and was gone. He then proceeded to do the same and teleported to the Fire Mountain, or volcano, in the far east and began his work on the material.
After three months he had completed some armor. It was made entirely of dragon scales and flowed like silk. It was as hard as diamonds and after using his own magic; it was three hundred times stronger. There was a smock and pants, then a head covering. He then made a breastplate out of the shed claws of the dragons, and then arm guards out of the same. He made shin guards, and thigh guards and then made boots out of the super tough yet flexible scales of the eyelids and wings. From the teeth that the dragons shed throughout their life he made a dozen daggers, two short swords, a broad sword and a long sword. He made a bow out of the bones of those dragons that had died and been brought to him. He paid his respects and then made the items he needed. The arrows were made from the protective scales around the claws and the tips, broad heads and field points, were made from infused teeth, bones, and claws. He made three hundred dozen. He made sheaths from the shed membranes of the wings and a back quiver from the same. The quiver would expand to hold half of what he made.
He practiced using all of his weapons and became skilled beyond his wildest dreams. He started to bathe in the lava of the volcano, feeling to him as if it were a hot bath. His skin had transformed into extremely small scales, his regular cells were now like that of a dragon's. One day he was down hunting and happened to look into a pool of water. The advancements that Phoenix Song spoke of had been accelerated by Ancellius's extreme use of his abilities. He had grown the horn; it was now eighteen inches in length and the color of blood. His hands had claws instead of fingernails, and he casually extended and retracted them. He had grown wings that folded so tight around him that he could pull the armor he had made over them and make it seem as if he was only stout. His wingspan was eighteen feet and he was now four foot nine inches tall. He had the strength of five dragons, but the touch of a kitten.
In July he trained on getting as many Animagi form as possible. At the end of July, he had learned how to become: a cheetah, a lion, all types of tigers, all jaguars, ligers, elephants, buffalo, deer, elk, caribou, wolves, dogs, cats, fish, all mammals, and birds. He was the most skilled and powerful Animagi ever heard of.
August came and a dark black owl came and dropped a letter in emerald green handwriting. He picked it up and opened it hurriedly. He read it once through and then again. It read:
Dear Mr. Ancellius Amadeus Falco, We are pleased to inform you That you have been accepted into Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There is a list enclosed Of all the materials that you will need. We realize that you are alone and do not Look as most of the other students will and do, But we will help you fit in as best as possible. Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
"Hmmm." Ancellius said as he re-read the letter. "What in the hell are they gonna want with me?" He asked himself curiously. A moment late another owl arrived and deposited a scroll into his out stretched hand. This one read:
Dear Mr. Falco, We would like you to attend Hogwarts because we feel that you can and will Benefit from our teachers and staff. We also Feel that you would do well to join Hogwarts Because you are still an under aged wizard, and Although you may have precocious powers, we Feel that you need to earn your diploma and become A legal aged wizard. Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
"Well, now that makes since. I guess I'll attend." He said to himself as yet another owl deposited a letter. Thank You, Albus Dumbledore
"Ya know this is starting to piss me off. And if one more owl gives me a letter I am going to scream." He said, acting as if he were telling the truth, but grinning all the same. Ancellius went back into his cave and gathered all of his things into his dragon scale trunks and bags and teleported to the Broomstreet Bar in Diagon Alley.
"'Lo" Ancellius said as he stepped up to the bar in the building next to Gringotts and asked for a room.
"Well, I guess I have one left, but it will cost you extra." The small man behind the bar said with a sly grin.
"How much?"
"Three galleons."
"Three Galleons! Are you outta your bloody fuckin' mind?" Ancellius roared at the bartender. "You are trying to cheat me and I know it! Now, how about a decent price?" Ancellius asked as he grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and lifted him off his feet.
"The boy is right Georggio." A great beast of a man said as he stepped up.
"Sorry boy, how about one galleon and seven sickles?"
"That's still trying to cheat me."
"He's right, has a great head on 'is shoulders 'e does."
"You're right Hagrid, three sickles."
"Deal." Ancellius said as he handed the man the money. "Now, where's my room?"
"Upstairs, third door on your right. An extra sickle will get you a hot bath, a great dinner and a great breakfast."
"Nah, I'm headed out till dark. Leave the door unlocked."
"Ok, but be back before eleven PM, that's when the doors close." Georggio said and Ancellius walked up the stairs and stowed his things. He grabbed one dragon scale bag and locked the door with his mage power; now even the innkeeper can't get in. "How'd you get that horn?" the innkeeper asked as Ancellius stepped off the landing. Ancellius waved his hand once and the innkeeper looked dazed, as did everyone else, and used a glamour charm to hide the horn. An instant later the innkeeper was asking what he had been saying.
Ancellius walked out the front door and made a sharp left turn into Gringotts. He told the goblin his vault number and was rewarded by the goblin running a magic scan over him. He removed the charm and realized that he didn't give a fuck what anyone thought. He allowed his wings to unfurl and the goblin led him to a vertical shaft. How long ago had I requested this? Ancellius asked himself as he remembered the first time he saw his wings. The goblin told him how far down it was and left him to do what he would. He hopped feet first into the shaft and let his wings levitate him down to the fifth vault down the shaft. He entered his vault and filled the small sack with all the galleons and sickles that he could. The bag bulged and stretched, looking as if it would break, although it never would. He hopped back into the shaft and pumped his wings three times and was in the first floor of Gringotts once again.
He walked out the door and headed toward the cauldron shop and bought the best they had, a cauldron made of iron magically enchanted to heat itself, stir itself, and add its ingredients itself. He then went to Flourish and Blotts Ever-changing Inks. He bought a phoenix quill pen, a pheasant quill, a peacock quill and three bottles of each color, which he deposited in a dragon hide book bag on his back. He went to the bookstore and bought the necessary items and saw one Harry Potter buying his own books. He then went to the ice cream shoppe and took break on a quadruple scoop of chocolate, cherry, vanilla, and strawberry scoops. He went by the pet store and stared in the window.
"Good day young sir, how may I help you?" the elderly man at the counter asked.
"What kind of pets do you have, I would like to have the entire list."
"Here you go, please let me know if you would like to buy something." He said as he walked into the back.
Ancellius stood in the same spot reading the list and then saw the chair in the corner and sat down. The list read: wolves, lizards, owls, hawks, falcons, toads, mice, rats, miniature dragons, cats, and eagles.
"Sir!" Ancellius bellowed into the corridor in which the man disappeared, causing dust to jump up.
"Yes, have you decided?"
"Yes, I would like three miniature dragons, two wolves, a lizard, a snowy owl, a black owl, one of every hawk you have, one of every falcon, and two eagles."
"My, my, my. You are a friendly boy aren't you?" the man said, a kindly smile on his face. "I mean are they all you have for friends or what?"
"No, my true friends are dragons. They made me this way; I have been named their Dragon Master and Champion. They titled me Sir Lancelot, Dragon Master and Champion."
"Sure you were. Now, how did you really become the way you are, an angered witch perhaps?"
Phoenix Song, please tell this fool. Ancellius called to the dragon. In the next moment Phoenix Song was standing outside the shoppe and the man was gawking.
"Believe me now old man?" Ancellius asked.
"Yessir, well well well, looks like you are the real deal. Here you are." The old man said, impressed. He handed Ancellius a cart and watched as he released the animals in the shoppe. "Are you crazy!" The old man exclaimed.
"Ha! They will listen. Watch." Ancellius said as he walked toward the door. "Come friends!" He commanded and the all followed, floating on the current and the dragons on his shoulders. The wolves prowled on either side of him. He tied a note to the leg of the snowy owl he had picked out, Dew he named it, and sent it to his lodging with information and orders for the innkeeper to take care of the eagles, hawks, falcons, and lizards. He walked back inside and bought one more miniature dragon. Gotta have an even number ya know?
Ancellius walked along the street, his wings behind him like a great cape and the wolves flanking him. The four mini-dragons, Thor, Pyra, Odina, and Aenar, nuzzled his neck and crooned as he spoke to them in mindspeech. They all walked toward the wand shoppe and he strode inside as the wolves filed in behind, one by one. They flanked the door and allowed no one to enter as he got his wand.
"How may I help you Dragon Master and Champion?" the small man asked politely.
"How'd you know?" Ancellius asked amazed.
"You are only the second I ever met. But I recognize them easily enough I mean you stand out. Now down to business." The man said as he reached behind him and handed Ancellius a seven-inch oak wand with a phoenix tail. Nothing happened. Next he handed him a four-inch cherry wand with dragon's bane. Ancellius almost collapsed from the pain it caused. The wolves growled menacingly.
"Sorry, sorry, I actually forgot." The man apologized as he handed Ancellius a thirty-five inch black cherry wand with a phoenix tail, unicorn hair, werewolf tooth, dragon's scale and tooth, and griffin feather. It lit the room with sparks and colors. The wand was as rigid as a sword. "Looks as if you are a good swordsman also, no wonder that one reacts. You will be great with that wand young sir, the problem is, is that you might not be able to afford it."
"How much does it cost?" Ancellius asked, definitely wanting the wand like a lover wants his mistress.
"Thirty galleons. Sorry, but with all that's in it, the quality of the wood and the length, I can charge no more, no less."
"Is that it? I figured it would be at least ninety. Well, looks like I got a break." Ancellius said as he handed over the money.
"Wow, you are a rich young man also. Where did you get it?"
"Mined it. Then minted it in a factory. Gringotts goblins visit every so often in the Fire Mountain."
"Wow." The old man said with awe. "Have a nice day!" The man said as he smiled after the boy and his pets.
"Well Odina, Pyra, Thor, Aenar, what do we do now?" he asked the pets on his shoulder. They crooned back, unable to use speech. The group of Dragon Master Champion, and pets went back to their inn and settled in for the night.
The teenage boy unsheathed the short sword from his hip and swung the blade at the dragon before him. He unsheathed a lengthy dagger and continued his attack. On his second swing with the sword, it went flying. The dragon lashed out with its claws and the young boy parried with his dagger. His blade snapped as the claw connected with it, and was snapped in half. He dropped the hilt of the ruined dagger and clutched the sword in both hands. The dragon lashed out once more and he parried with his stronger weapon. He reached and unsheathed the other sword still sheathed on his other hip and ripped it from the cracked leather scabbard. He now had one sword in each hand, parrying each blow and striking out while he defended.
He brought the two swords in an arc over his head and caught the dragon on the back. Sparks went flying, as did one of the blades. He leapt upon the great beast's back and slipped the sword under the neck of his opponent.
"HA! I finally won Aeglor, I finally won!" The thirteen-year-old boy exclaimed.
"Yesss, yesss you did. Hatchling, tell me how you won," The dragon said as a cold smile crossed his scaly lips.
"Well, I think it is because of all the trainin' that we have been doin', but I'm not sure. Do you know how I won?" the boy asked inquiringly.
"Yesss, I do. The reassson you won Hatchling isss that you have a gift for sssword play. You have become increasssingly deft with the sssword and train vigorousssly. Being an Animagi of many formsss helpsss alssso young one. Your life in America would not have allowed you to openly do thisss training would it?" Aeglor stated.
"ANCELLIUS!!!" a voice yelled from the bottom of the mountain that they were standing upon.
"Father up on top!" Ancellius yelled, paling in comparison to his father's booming voice.
"Ah, what have you been doing up here all the time?" His father asked as he broke over the crest of the mountaintop.
"Training with Aeglor."
"And who in the hell is Aeglor?" His father asked skeptically.
"He is." Ancellius said as he pointed to the dragon standing behind him.
"Holy Mother of God!" His father exclaimed.
"Pleassse calm him down Ancelliussss; he isss giving me a headache." Aeglor said as he set his great bulk softly on the ground, head on forelegs.
"Ok, but he might get frightened by me being a ParselTongue. I mean I am the first one in twelve generations." Ancellius said as he laughed along with Aeglor, which seemed like a threatening growl to Ancellius's father.
"What in the hell was that?" His father asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"Father, I am a ParselTongue. You remember what that is don't you?" Ancellius asked his father as he hissed something to Aeglor.
"Yes, but how? You can't be, well you could but you can't be. There hasn't been one in our family in twelve generations, and Merlin was that one." His father babbled, obviously nervous about his son's gift.
"Well, I guess it just skipped some generations. And father?" "Yes?" His father asked, obviously shaking now.
"I am also a Magi, Animaga, and have a natural talent for sword play. Is there something wrong?" He asked the last worriedly.
"You- you- you are like Merlin Himself. Animaga have more than one form correct? Animagi have one and only one right?"
"Yes, but..."
"You are truly the descendant of Merlin. What forms do you posses in your Animaga magic?" He asked excitedly, interrupting his son.
"Griever is my most powerful one, but I think that it is a natural form. I mean I was able to become that right off. What is wrong with you dad?" Ancellius asked, dropping the accent he had been forced to acquire when the American Wizard Society had sent assassins to kill the boy, and failed horribly.
"You are the one in the prophecy. Born on the 26th of March, on an Easter Sunday. You are the only one that fits it. Animaga, Mage, wizard, and swordsman, you are the Chosen one. You will decide whether there will be good or evil. But, you cannot be the one. Merlin himself must have put his magic into the one whom he thought the most sensible to confront the sources of good and evil.
"You are the one and only that will decide whether or not the world lives on, for you alone will be able to live if all else perish. You must think of this my son; even the great Harry Potter does not have your power. You would be a match for Merlin."
Father why must you bring this up to me now? I need not face those horrors until I am of age. And although that is coming up fast, I still have five years before I turn sixteen. Ancellius said the argument in his head, for saying it aloud would condemn his father to a life of misery and denial of his coward son.
"It is also time for dinner, let us tell your mother." His father said excited.
"NO!" Ancellius bellowed with such force that even Aeglor's covered ears rang with the shock of the boy's flaring anger. "You mustn't tell mother, we cannot survive as it is on the money that the International Wizard Protection Agency gives us. They want us to keep a low profile, and that includes dying in poverty. Well, I WILL NOT HAVE IT!" He bellowed as he ran to the cliff's edge and leapt.
Aeglor roared and also leapt from the cliff. He had his wings folded to his sides and caught Ancellius at the last moment as he snapped his wings open and snagged the boy from death's grasp.
"Why did you do it son?" Ancellius's father cried as he was deposited on the mountaintop once more.
"I cannot stand to see you and mother suffer; and now you bring me the news that I am the Chosen one to lead the world to order, or bring about a new world order. I must leave." Ancellius said as he changed to Griever, a fifty-foot tall, hundred foot long lion with midnight black fur and feathered wings. He had a horn spiraled like that of a unicorn, but his was the color of coagulated blood. A dark crimson. His mane was the same and so was the tuft at the end of his tail. His claws were as black as his coat and his teeth so white they blinded those without eyes. His eyes burned like a bloody fire and seared those who defied him.
The great lion leapt into the sky and soared away from the dragon and his father so fast that his father only had time to collapse on the ground in shame,
I know that I will regret this, but I must run for now. I must train for this battle that I am supposed to take part in. I do not know whether I will choose good, evil, or just make a caste of my own. The Griever's Order. Yes, that is what I will call it. No good, no evil, just plain people living in peace. Ancellius said to himself as the beast that he was smiled, showing the two-foot long canine teeth.
He landed on a rocky ledge and quickly changed. He walked steadily on his own two feet into a cave that was on that small ledge that he had landed upon. Unfortunately, the cave already seemed to be inhabited. There was a hot breath coming from the back of the cave, making him sweat profusely. He stripped to his boxers revealing a scarred body. He continued toward the back of the cave as he dropped his pants and withdrew the two swords with which he had been training.
"Is there anyone here?" He asked first in English. "Does anyone inhabit this cave?" He asked in Parsle Tongue and got a reply.
"Yesss. I, one of the Romanian Knight Dragons inhabit thissss cave." A silky, yet cold voice said from the shadows. "I have been waiting for you Sssir Lancelot. You are to be tesssted here and now. Are you ready?" The voice asked in a monotonous voice.
"Yes, what is my test?" Ancellius asked, not at all bewildered at the use of the famous knight's name in place of his own. That is after all, who he was named after.
"The elemental test. To decide whether you are worthy to live among the dragons. You will be tested upon Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, holy, Darkness, Gravity, Thunder, Life, and that of the animals. Are you ready for the first task?" The voice said as a human stepped from the shadows and spoke clearly in English.
"You are not a dragon. You are not human either though. What are you?"
"Guardian of the dragons. I take the form of any type of dragon that I choose, and I can speak with them as you do. Now, are you ready for your test?" The man/beast asked.
"Yes." Ancellius said in a serious tone.
"Very well. ATTACK!" The man bellowed in the small cave and a spurt of fire enveloped the boy. Raucous laughter followed the blast and the man said, "You were not wort..." but was interrupted as the fire was pleasantly absorbed by Ancellius.
"Griever? We are one?" Ancellius asked himself as ancient knowledge flooded his being and he turned his palm toward the man/beast and let fly a light spurt of flame. The boy walked from the cave and was then attacked by a number of other dragons, including the rare, Japanese White Oracle Dragon, the German Phoenix Dragon, the Romanian Knight Dragon, the type that Aeglor was, a Chinese Warrior Dragon, and an American Gatekeeper Dragon. The attacks combined in the middle of the air and pushed the small boy toward the cliff. His legs steadied as the energy of the attacks was drained, then assimilated into the boy.
"Dragon Master!" The dragons bellowed in a clear voice, their natural lisp gone. "Behold Sir Lancelot, Dragon Master and Champion!" The dragons bellowed in the same voice for all to hear.
"I am not a Dragon master, my other form simply controls all elements. I am not your Master or Champion. I am just a boy." Ancellius said, but gave up as he thought about the idea.
"We will follow you Sir Lancelot. What do you ask of us?" The rarest dragon of all, the German Phoenix Dragon, asked.
"Can I have the scales that you have ever shed?"
"May we ask why benevolent one?"
"Armor, clothing, weapons, shields, and robes. And containers. I heard that almost nothing can destroy a dragon's scale and that is has magical powers, am I mistaken?"
"No. You have heard correctly, but how do you plan to use them all?"
"Melt them down with my mage fires, the elemental fire and all of yours if you are willing." Ancellius said as he looked upon the crowd around him. A moment later, the dragons had all disappeared and then reappeared in just a few moments.
"Go to the fire mountain, we have deposited them all there. You will find a great hole in the ground turned into what you humans called metal. There you can melt them all down but we refuse to help you. You should make the items yourself, if you want them at their strongest. If a dragon helps a human make something of its scales, then it loses all power." The white Oracle dragon said in a very soft voice.
"Ok, I understand. The fire mountain to the north or east?"
"The east O great one." The Phoenix dragon said. As all the other dragons left t their business the Phoenix Dragon stepped up and bowed it's head to Ancellius. "May I bestow a gift upon you?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"My name is Phoenix Song, and the gift I wish to give you is a spirit stone. It gives us our magic, and very few mortals ever get one. It resides in our foreheads, and I wish to bestow you with one of your own if I may?"
"Yes, please do, I have always preferred the company of things other than human. Humans are assholes, and they have no real pride."
"There are side-effects, but if you would rather wait for the transaction, I will."
"Please, I care not for side-effects."
"Very well." The dragon said as he put his spirit stone to Ancellius's forehead and a brief flash of pain seared his head and then pure ecstasy. A stone that looked as if it contained a black cloud with streaks of crimson lightning appeared on the boy's head and he fell to the ground.
"Wow!"
"Yes, I have been told by Merlin that it is a very painful yet pleasurable experience. Do you wish for the side-effects?"
"Yes." He said as he rubbed the stone, listening to it thrum under his hand.
"After two years, that stone will develop into either one or two horns, you will sprout wings, either leathery like that of a normal dragon, or feathery like mine. You will grow a tail and your fingers will have retractable claws. Do you wish you had not accepted the gift now?" Phoenix Song asked the changed boy.
"No."
"There is more. You will grow more muscles than imagined in a human, and your intelligence will increase exponentially, If you are not worthy of the powers, or abuse it you will be driven mad and die within three days of your madness. Do you still accept it?"
"Yes."
"With this stone, you will be able to practice Dragon Magick and teleport as we do. Do you still accept it?"
"Yes, I thank you my great friend." Ancellius said as he hugged the dragon. "I bid you farewell. If I am to make my things I will need to work long and hard to practice and work out the kinks. I thank you again my friend." Ancellius said as the great dragon popped out from under his arms and was gone. He then proceeded to do the same and teleported to the Fire Mountain, or volcano, in the far east and began his work on the material.
After three months he had completed some armor. It was made entirely of dragon scales and flowed like silk. It was as hard as diamonds and after using his own magic; it was three hundred times stronger. There was a smock and pants, then a head covering. He then made a breastplate out of the shed claws of the dragons, and then arm guards out of the same. He made shin guards, and thigh guards and then made boots out of the super tough yet flexible scales of the eyelids and wings. From the teeth that the dragons shed throughout their life he made a dozen daggers, two short swords, a broad sword and a long sword. He made a bow out of the bones of those dragons that had died and been brought to him. He paid his respects and then made the items he needed. The arrows were made from the protective scales around the claws and the tips, broad heads and field points, were made from infused teeth, bones, and claws. He made three hundred dozen. He made sheaths from the shed membranes of the wings and a back quiver from the same. The quiver would expand to hold half of what he made.
He practiced using all of his weapons and became skilled beyond his wildest dreams. He started to bathe in the lava of the volcano, feeling to him as if it were a hot bath. His skin had transformed into extremely small scales, his regular cells were now like that of a dragon's. One day he was down hunting and happened to look into a pool of water. The advancements that Phoenix Song spoke of had been accelerated by Ancellius's extreme use of his abilities. He had grown the horn; it was now eighteen inches in length and the color of blood. His hands had claws instead of fingernails, and he casually extended and retracted them. He had grown wings that folded so tight around him that he could pull the armor he had made over them and make it seem as if he was only stout. His wingspan was eighteen feet and he was now four foot nine inches tall. He had the strength of five dragons, but the touch of a kitten.
In July he trained on getting as many Animagi form as possible. At the end of July, he had learned how to become: a cheetah, a lion, all types of tigers, all jaguars, ligers, elephants, buffalo, deer, elk, caribou, wolves, dogs, cats, fish, all mammals, and birds. He was the most skilled and powerful Animagi ever heard of.
August came and a dark black owl came and dropped a letter in emerald green handwriting. He picked it up and opened it hurriedly. He read it once through and then again. It read:
Dear Mr. Ancellius Amadeus Falco, We are pleased to inform you That you have been accepted into Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There is a list enclosed Of all the materials that you will need. We realize that you are alone and do not Look as most of the other students will and do, But we will help you fit in as best as possible. Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
"Hmmm." Ancellius said as he re-read the letter. "What in the hell are they gonna want with me?" He asked himself curiously. A moment late another owl arrived and deposited a scroll into his out stretched hand. This one read:
Dear Mr. Falco, We would like you to attend Hogwarts because we feel that you can and will Benefit from our teachers and staff. We also Feel that you would do well to join Hogwarts Because you are still an under aged wizard, and Although you may have precocious powers, we Feel that you need to earn your diploma and become A legal aged wizard. Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
"Well, now that makes since. I guess I'll attend." He said to himself as yet another owl deposited a letter. Thank You, Albus Dumbledore
"Ya know this is starting to piss me off. And if one more owl gives me a letter I am going to scream." He said, acting as if he were telling the truth, but grinning all the same. Ancellius went back into his cave and gathered all of his things into his dragon scale trunks and bags and teleported to the Broomstreet Bar in Diagon Alley.
"'Lo" Ancellius said as he stepped up to the bar in the building next to Gringotts and asked for a room.
"Well, I guess I have one left, but it will cost you extra." The small man behind the bar said with a sly grin.
"How much?"
"Three galleons."
"Three Galleons! Are you outta your bloody fuckin' mind?" Ancellius roared at the bartender. "You are trying to cheat me and I know it! Now, how about a decent price?" Ancellius asked as he grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and lifted him off his feet.
"The boy is right Georggio." A great beast of a man said as he stepped up.
"Sorry boy, how about one galleon and seven sickles?"
"That's still trying to cheat me."
"He's right, has a great head on 'is shoulders 'e does."
"You're right Hagrid, three sickles."
"Deal." Ancellius said as he handed the man the money. "Now, where's my room?"
"Upstairs, third door on your right. An extra sickle will get you a hot bath, a great dinner and a great breakfast."
"Nah, I'm headed out till dark. Leave the door unlocked."
"Ok, but be back before eleven PM, that's when the doors close." Georggio said and Ancellius walked up the stairs and stowed his things. He grabbed one dragon scale bag and locked the door with his mage power; now even the innkeeper can't get in. "How'd you get that horn?" the innkeeper asked as Ancellius stepped off the landing. Ancellius waved his hand once and the innkeeper looked dazed, as did everyone else, and used a glamour charm to hide the horn. An instant later the innkeeper was asking what he had been saying.
Ancellius walked out the front door and made a sharp left turn into Gringotts. He told the goblin his vault number and was rewarded by the goblin running a magic scan over him. He removed the charm and realized that he didn't give a fuck what anyone thought. He allowed his wings to unfurl and the goblin led him to a vertical shaft. How long ago had I requested this? Ancellius asked himself as he remembered the first time he saw his wings. The goblin told him how far down it was and left him to do what he would. He hopped feet first into the shaft and let his wings levitate him down to the fifth vault down the shaft. He entered his vault and filled the small sack with all the galleons and sickles that he could. The bag bulged and stretched, looking as if it would break, although it never would. He hopped back into the shaft and pumped his wings three times and was in the first floor of Gringotts once again.
He walked out the door and headed toward the cauldron shop and bought the best they had, a cauldron made of iron magically enchanted to heat itself, stir itself, and add its ingredients itself. He then went to Flourish and Blotts Ever-changing Inks. He bought a phoenix quill pen, a pheasant quill, a peacock quill and three bottles of each color, which he deposited in a dragon hide book bag on his back. He went to the bookstore and bought the necessary items and saw one Harry Potter buying his own books. He then went to the ice cream shoppe and took break on a quadruple scoop of chocolate, cherry, vanilla, and strawberry scoops. He went by the pet store and stared in the window.
"Good day young sir, how may I help you?" the elderly man at the counter asked.
"What kind of pets do you have, I would like to have the entire list."
"Here you go, please let me know if you would like to buy something." He said as he walked into the back.
Ancellius stood in the same spot reading the list and then saw the chair in the corner and sat down. The list read: wolves, lizards, owls, hawks, falcons, toads, mice, rats, miniature dragons, cats, and eagles.
"Sir!" Ancellius bellowed into the corridor in which the man disappeared, causing dust to jump up.
"Yes, have you decided?"
"Yes, I would like three miniature dragons, two wolves, a lizard, a snowy owl, a black owl, one of every hawk you have, one of every falcon, and two eagles."
"My, my, my. You are a friendly boy aren't you?" the man said, a kindly smile on his face. "I mean are they all you have for friends or what?"
"No, my true friends are dragons. They made me this way; I have been named their Dragon Master and Champion. They titled me Sir Lancelot, Dragon Master and Champion."
"Sure you were. Now, how did you really become the way you are, an angered witch perhaps?"
Phoenix Song, please tell this fool. Ancellius called to the dragon. In the next moment Phoenix Song was standing outside the shoppe and the man was gawking.
"Believe me now old man?" Ancellius asked.
"Yessir, well well well, looks like you are the real deal. Here you are." The old man said, impressed. He handed Ancellius a cart and watched as he released the animals in the shoppe. "Are you crazy!" The old man exclaimed.
"Ha! They will listen. Watch." Ancellius said as he walked toward the door. "Come friends!" He commanded and the all followed, floating on the current and the dragons on his shoulders. The wolves prowled on either side of him. He tied a note to the leg of the snowy owl he had picked out, Dew he named it, and sent it to his lodging with information and orders for the innkeeper to take care of the eagles, hawks, falcons, and lizards. He walked back inside and bought one more miniature dragon. Gotta have an even number ya know?
Ancellius walked along the street, his wings behind him like a great cape and the wolves flanking him. The four mini-dragons, Thor, Pyra, Odina, and Aenar, nuzzled his neck and crooned as he spoke to them in mindspeech. They all walked toward the wand shoppe and he strode inside as the wolves filed in behind, one by one. They flanked the door and allowed no one to enter as he got his wand.
"How may I help you Dragon Master and Champion?" the small man asked politely.
"How'd you know?" Ancellius asked amazed.
"You are only the second I ever met. But I recognize them easily enough I mean you stand out. Now down to business." The man said as he reached behind him and handed Ancellius a seven-inch oak wand with a phoenix tail. Nothing happened. Next he handed him a four-inch cherry wand with dragon's bane. Ancellius almost collapsed from the pain it caused. The wolves growled menacingly.
"Sorry, sorry, I actually forgot." The man apologized as he handed Ancellius a thirty-five inch black cherry wand with a phoenix tail, unicorn hair, werewolf tooth, dragon's scale and tooth, and griffin feather. It lit the room with sparks and colors. The wand was as rigid as a sword. "Looks as if you are a good swordsman also, no wonder that one reacts. You will be great with that wand young sir, the problem is, is that you might not be able to afford it."
"How much does it cost?" Ancellius asked, definitely wanting the wand like a lover wants his mistress.
"Thirty galleons. Sorry, but with all that's in it, the quality of the wood and the length, I can charge no more, no less."
"Is that it? I figured it would be at least ninety. Well, looks like I got a break." Ancellius said as he handed over the money.
"Wow, you are a rich young man also. Where did you get it?"
"Mined it. Then minted it in a factory. Gringotts goblins visit every so often in the Fire Mountain."
"Wow." The old man said with awe. "Have a nice day!" The man said as he smiled after the boy and his pets.
"Well Odina, Pyra, Thor, Aenar, what do we do now?" he asked the pets on his shoulder. They crooned back, unable to use speech. The group of Dragon Master Champion, and pets went back to their inn and settled in for the night.