Hey everyone! this is my first ever fanfiction, enjoy!
Summary: "You, my son, are the light, for all our people. You must go to Arcantha, and let them know that there is still one who survives. In Arcantha, you will find the gathering of the Last Dragon Lords. You will lead this world out of its darkness, Prince Draco Malfoy. "
Chapter 1: The Lone Survivor
Not only those of soldiers, but also the severed corpses and body parts of innocent women and children lay scattered across the ground, in the courtyard of the now crumbling castle of Arion, in the Western Lands of Veldra.
He couldn't see past the wall of tears, couldn't hear past the ringing sound of battle in his ears. What bothered him the most was the smell. The smell of freshly spilled blood mixed with dirt and gore filled the air. The smell of smoke, fire and despair that spread across the once bountiful land, as he held his mother's broken body in his weakening arms.
"Tunnels… now, my son. You have to live. Find the letter… my last letter… with the seal of Arcantha. I love you… Draco…" He said nothing as he watched his mother's eyelids flutter, then shut, to never open again.
It was almost as if time froze. The pounding in his ears ceased, as he wiped away the tears that flowed from his blue-grey eyes, brushed back his white blonde hair, and felt the resolve to live return, as he processed his mother's last words.
To the left of the courtyard through the east gardens, lay the secret tunnels that his mother spoke of. Thundering footsteps and shouts of anger came closer to him from the right. The Tharcaean soldiers were getting closer. Lowering his mother's body to the ground, Draco left the garden, and began lowering himself down the stone well that was normally hidden from view behind the great oak tree. He put one hand on the hilt of his sword, and the other held on to the rusty rung on the side of the well and listened, as the footsteps thundered past him up into the castle.
...
"Prince Malfoy! Prince Malfoy where have you hidden yourself now?"
Draco giggled, as he held on tight to the metal rungs inside the abandoned well in the east garden of the castle, knowing full well that his bumbling fool of a nanny would run right past, and never find him.
"Draco, come up this instant. You shouldn't scare poor Lydia like that," came the loving voice of Narcissa Malfoy from above.
His smile slid off his face, as he looked up into the smiling face of his mother.
"Oh mother, how do you always know where to find me?" pouted the 12 year old Draco Malfoy. No matter where he hid, his mother always knew where to look, to find her mischievous little boy.
"Darling, I played hide and go seek in this castle with your father on multiple occasions, of course I knew where to look for you!" Narcissa's smile dimmed at the mention of her husband, Lucius Malfoy. He was the King of Arion, and the ever loving father in the public eye, but those within the inner circles of the royal family knew that Lucius' once caring and merciful soul was diminishing by the minute.
"Son, I want you to remember these words very carefully. I'm about to tell you a secret you are not to share with anybody, especially not your father. Promise me, Draco. Promise you will keep what I am about to tell you, to yourself. Promise me you will not utter one word of this until the time is dire." Narcissa rarely sounded so serious when speaking to Draco.
Unused to the severity in her voice, all Draco could do was nod, and register the fearful look in his mother's eyes.
"At the bottom of this well, there is a trap door. You will find tunnels that lead away from Arion, to the woods of Corteza. There, a man by the name of Hagrid will have something special for you. Remember the words "Hodie enim lux et futura, nobis certamen." However, you are not to enter this well again unless I tell you to do so, understood?"
...
Draco's racing heartbeat increased even more, as he remembered the cryptic message his mother left him that one fine day 5 years ago. He was a curious boy, and the thought of leaving Arion and exploring the outside world never left him, but his fear of the unknown kept him tucked safely behind the walls of this kingdom. Until now.
Step by step, rung by rung, he lowered himself further down that same well, until he felt the moisture seeping into the bottom his boot. He looked below him and gave an anguished yell as he realized he could go no further if he wished to stay dry. It seemed like the fates were going against him, as he lost his footing and slipped right into the dark water waiting below.
He let loose a despondent, sarcastic chuckle, as he realized the water was shallow, reaching only up to his calves. Feeling around in the darkness, he had absolutely no idea how to find the trapdoor his mother spoke of. His fingers ran over the damp, moss covered inner stone walls of the well, trying to scope out any sign or clue to lead him to the secret tunnels. As he was moving across the edge of the wall, his knee brushed against a sharp edge, causing him to grunt and stumble to the side.
He reached down, and felt a wooden ledge, about a finger's length, 2 inches above the water. Awkwardly bending down, Draco rotated the ledge upward, and heard a soft click, as he felt the stone wall in front of him retract on itself, revealing a narrow entrance into a tunnel that was only tall enough for a dwarf to get through.
Cursing to himself, Draco hoisted himself into the opening, and crawled forward on his hands and knees, wondering how long this tunnel would extend. He crawled on for what seemed like hours, and only after he stopped for a break did he realize that the tunnel had been sloping upwards for the last mile or so. Feeling up the tunnel wall with his now dirt covered hands, he slowly pulled himself into a standing position, grumbling at his own stupidity of not knowing that the tunnel was now tall enough for him to walk upright in.
He continued down the tunnel, and walked right into a metal rung in front of him. Turns out, the tunnel had come to an end, and the only way left for him to go, was up the round, narrow
When he reached the top, his head hit a wooden roof, causing him to almost plunge all the way back down to the bottom. Luckily, his dirt-covered hands seemed to give him a better grip, and he held on for his life.
Balancing his feet on a rung and leaning his whole body against the back edge of the stone wall, he pushed upwards with all his might, but to no avail. He was slowly losing hope, and getting angrier by the minute. He punched upwards, causing a loud thud to reverberate down the narrow open space, and giving him an uncomfortable bruise on his knuckles.
Just as he was about to give up in frustration, he heard the sound of wood grating against stone, and saw a sliver of afternoon sunlight stream down onto his face. Squinting his eyes, his hands balled into fists in preparation for a fight.
What he did not expect to see was a bush of brown hair on the face of a very large man, staring down into Draco's eyes.
"I've been expecting you," came the course voice from behind the thick brown bush of hair. "The name's Hagrid. Now pull yourself up, boy. We do not have all day." The bush disappeared from view, as Hagrid turned around and walked toward a wooden hut.
Draco pulled himself out of what he now saw was another well, and followed Hagrid down the dirt path to his hut.
The hut itself was built of wood, and stood in a clearing surrounded by trees. Nothing could be seen past the various clusters of trees. They were so deep in the forest; he knew he was safe for the moment, and that he had reached the woods of Corteza.
Entering the hut, he came face to face with the point on and arrow attached to a crossbow. Looking up, he was met with the blazing brown eyes of the large man Hagrid, and his heart raced in fear.
"Hodie enim lux et futura," growled Hagrid.
Remembering his mother's words, Draco replied "nobis certamen?"
Satisfied, Hagrid lowered his crossbow, and walked over to the table in the far right corner of the hut to take a seat. He reached under the table to unlock a large mahogany chest, and brought out a scroll with three wax seals on it still intact.
"Well then. This is a medallion you must guard with your life, and here is your mother's letter for you. I am truly sorry about her passing".
Draco took the medallion and dropped it in the pocket of his breeches for the time being. He wanted to find out what his mother's last words were. He focused his attention on the scroll, and looked down at the seals. The red wax was old and starting to crumble, but they were unmistakably the Langdon and Malfoy Family seal, used by his mother before and after her marriage respectively. He did not recognize the third seal, but it read "Black". He broke the seals, and began to read.
...
"My dearest Draco,
If you are reading this letter, it means that I am gone, and I cannot apologize enough. If I had a choice, I never would have left you in this dark, painful world. Never doubt for a minute that I have loved you with all my heart. I will miss you in my life beyond the void.
You must have a lot of questions. Let me begin with "Hodie enim lux et futura, Nobis certamen." That is an old saying in my family's language, and it means, "For the light of today and the future, we fight." The saying is not common knowledge, and only those who know of the secrets of Arcantha will recognize this phrase.
Oh my son. We never spoke of my family line. Your father told you I was born a daughter of an Arionian Duke, but that was a lie. He did not know the truth surrounding the circumstances of my family. I was adopted by Duke Langdon, whose wife was barren, and could not give birth. He kept this a secret though. He was a loving adopted father, and he complied to my wishes.
I was born in the far lands of Calibri, a princess to the Black royal family. You do not know of my home land, because it is located across the Arcane Sea, in the Eastern Lands of Ardovra. Not many who are living on the western side of the Arcane Sea know much about the East. Calibri lies to the north of Ardovra, and we were at war with our neighboring Kingdom of Radoc. We were a peaceful people, and were not prepared for the slaughtering that the Radocians committed.
You, my son, are the light, the "lux" for all our people. You, my son, are now the lone survivor of Calibri and Arion. My son, I hate to lay this burden on you, but you must go to Arcantha, and let them know that there is still one who survives. One with the blood of both Arion and Calibri. You must let them know to not lose hope.
It is not a simple chore to travel across the Arcane Sea. It is a weeklong journey by the fastest of ships, and the sea's temper is anything but predictable. This is the path you must travel, to follow your destiny.
Finally, I must impart an important piece of information that you must not reveal to anyone, even those who you think are trustworthy. This is the secret of Arcantha. This is what I have been working all my life to protect. Arcantha is the largest kingdom of the East. Most of Arcantha is shielded by the Haradorac Mountains. They form a circle around Arcantha, and shield the people of Arcantha from any who try to enter.
My son, in Arcantha, you will find the gathering of the Last Dragon Lords.
Yes, in the western lands of Veldra, Dragon Lords are just a myth. Even in the East, many do not believe that Dragons still exist. But those of Arcantha know the truth. There is a prophecy that you will learn when you get there. You must get there, my son, or all hope will be lost.
I do not know when the war will reach Arion, but it is sure to happen. Lucius and his dealings with the Tharcaean king Orion will not end well. Tharcaea has always wanted to wipe out the existence of Arion, and nothing Lucius tries will succeed. He is not listening to anything I tell him, and doom for our kingdom is inevitable.
You are not safe, my son, not until you get to Arcantha.
I know you have many questions, and I have tried to answer them, but I cannot forsee so far in the future, and I do not know when it will be safe for me to visit Hagrid undetected, so this is all I can give you - this letter and the Arionian Medallion. Put your trust in Hagrid. He has never led me astray, and he's a good man.
You are destined for great things, my son. Be careful whom you trust. Guard your heart, but know when to let the right person in.
I love you, and whenever hope is dim, know that I will always be watching over you and protecting you from wherever I am.
Hodie enim lux et futura, Nobis certamen.
For today and the future, we fight,
Love with all my heart,
Your mother,
Narcissa Black-Langdon-Malfoy"
Thus concludes the first chapter!
i hope you all enjoyed it, please leave me a review, i always welcome any help or comments on my writing!