The traveler rode throughout the night. It was dark and cold as rain poured down onto his coat. He urged his horse farther towards the sight of light. The horse rode faster. It couldn't go any faster, it would soon give out, and the rider knew this. Just a little farther. His horse was strong, he knew he could make it. The light came closer. He held the oval shaped cloth close to him. He felt a beat coming from it, as if it were alive. He knew not what it was, but he knew it was very important and held power. He had to get it to the destination so it could be carried on by another. The gift had to have been extremely powerful, he had many close encounters with many beasts.
He was closer to the light now. A building came into his sight. Almost there. Just a little farther. Then something spooked his horse. It stopped and nervously sidestepped. He put his hand on its neck trying to calm it. The horse was still spooked. He urged him on. Soon they arrived at the house. He jumped off the horse and knocked on the door. A man opened the door. He looked surprised, then realization crossed his face. He widened the door and the man stepped inside.
The horse was still nervous and didn't want to stay around this place. Then a branch from a tree crashed down right in front of the horse. The horse bolted with a last frightened whinny as he ran in the direction he just came from. That was a wrong choice. He was swooped up into the air and disappeared into the night sky. The rider was alerted by the sounds outside and opened the door. He saw the broken tree branch and figured the horse just left in fear. He decided to let him go, now was not the time to run after a scared stallion. He went back inside.
"We need to hurry," the rider said.
"You may stay the night if you must. I can take care of this..."he looked towards the cloth bundle he now held,"Parcel."
"Thank you but where will you hide it. It has brought quite a bit of trouble since I've had it."
The man looked down at the parcel. "No, ill be fine. Exactly how much have they told you about this?" He gestured to the bundle.
"A knight told me that I was needed along with my steed to deliver it. They said it was extremely powerful and it would bring much danger."
"Then why did you bring it?"
"I didn't see the point of staying where nothing interesting would happen in my life."
The older man observed the rider. He was young and not bad looking. He had blue eyes and brown hair and had a bit of stubble. He was tall and looked strong, probably from years work of farming.
"I don't see why a lad like you would want to leave his life behind for a small duty such as this."
"I suppose everyone has their reasons. Some can be stupid, and some are the best reasons. But I think ill keep my reasons to myself."
"So be it."
The old man showed the rider to the guest room and gave him some dry clothes that he thought would have fit him. He was brewing a stew and it was almost done. They both sat and ate.
"Is there a las back home waiting for you?"
"There was but not anymore," the rider replied. He looked grim and hurt when he said those words.
"Tonight anything can happen."
"What do you mean?"
The old man looked up and smiled. "Nothing."
Once they finished eating the rider went to bed. He fell into a deep sleep. The old man sat and watched. Just as the prophecy foretold. The words swam through his mind.
On a night of ice and fire
A beacon of hope would come to this dying world
To be the savior or the destroyer
Two worlds collide and change
Though not at once, but in a different time
From a young man or woman of a dragons keep
To give deliverance
All will be lost or be made
The old man thought and thought. For it was he that delivered this news. There had to be a reason why it was this rider whom delivered the package. He had to be a dragon keeper, or be related to one. He knew little of the one who would deliver this beacon of hope, but he felt this was the man. He knew what he had to do. He stood and walked to his fireplace. He pulled out a stone that was under the fireplace and reached under to press a button. The wall behind the fireplace moved with a sound of stone screeching against stone. The fire did not go out, he did not will it to. He stepped through the fire and into a dark room. It was a cold stone floor and the walls were icy to the touch. There was a slight leak in one wall. Water dribbled down the wall and into a bowl. There was a table that had knives and tweezers and pliers on it. There were plants like drilont and blonant. They were plants that could heal and do other strange but amazing things. He grabbed and chopped some rosegrant and blundred. He threw it into the bowl of water and grabbed a jar of dirt. It wasn't just a plain jar of dirt, but a lighting fluid type of dirt. He threw a handful into the water and it lit up. He whispered some words in the unknown language and the fire turned blue. He unwrapped the package to reveal a rough shaped rock. It was hollow and had a tint of blue, green, and purple.
There was a loud roar as lightning flashed. He heard a bang on the door and another roar. The fire was now blue and blazing. The water started to spin and swirl and turned blue. It was all clear what he had to do know. The rider woke and grabbed his sword and ran downstairs. He saw behind the fire at what the old man was doing. He heard another bang bang at the door, but it would not fall. He jumped through the fire, untouched.
"What are you doing?"
The old man did not reply, but he dropped the package into the water. It disappeared. Then he realized what the man was.
"Magic is outlawed!"
"Not this time!,"the man yelled back. There was a loud crash behind and loud thumps followed. Then a roar. The rider turned around slowly. There was a large beast behind him, looking. It didn't think to look into the fireplace, then again who would've? It had large clawed talons for feet and spikes coming out of its back. It had a lions half of the body, from the torso up to the face. It had huge eagle wings, but they were worn and looked as if they had seen many battles. Its tail had a scorpion spike on it and was scaly. Its slitted eyes glowed red. It let out another roar then suddenly the stone wall behind the fireplace slammed shut. Thuds and roars followed as it tried to enter.
"Stay put. It wont get through."
The rider swallowed and sat down.
"Just leave me alone." I said as I tried to walk away.
"Hah, whats the matter little orphan? Were just messing."
"Leave me alone," I repeated. I clenched my fists and felt adrenaline. I never could handle my temper. I had gotten kicked out of 3 different schools. I was transported from orphanage to orphanage. I was pretty much a loner cause whats the point of making friends when you always get taken away?
"Your just a worthless little twit. Your parents never wanted you, that's why your an orphan."She shoved me back against the wall,"They knew you were a weakling and didn't want you to begin with. You were just a mistake."
My fist slammed into her face and I heard a crack. Blood flooded around my fist and engulfed her face. She stepped back and screamed.
"You punched me!"
"Oh I'm sorry, sounded like you wanted it." I then turned and walked away.
"Dont just stand there!"She yelled at her friends,"Get her!" I heard feet running after me. There were about three of her so called 'friends'. I turned and felt more adrenaline rush through my veins. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail as fast as I could and kicked the girl who was closest to me. She bent over, holding her gut. There was another girl who came at me she threw her fist at my face but I grabbed it and squeezed so hard I heard a loud pop. She screamed and backed off. The one I kicked in the gut stood straight and yelled as she wrapped her arms around my neck in an attempt to choke me. The last girl came at me and punched me in the gut two times. She laughed and smiled. I smiled back and bent down, throwing the girl who was choking me off my back and into her partner. They both fell to the ground. A black strand of hair fell into my face and I pushed it back. My bag fell to the ground, I bent down to pick it up.
"You little," the leader of the group tried to punch me while I was down, but I simply moved to the side and let her slam into the floor. I walked away as she screamed at me.
The next day I sat in the principals office. The girl whose nose I broke, or Lily, sat next to me and glared out the window. The principal sat calmly at her desk.
"I would like to know why you broke Lily's nose, Cara."
"She was pushing me and she wouldn't leave me alone, so I punched her face. I didn't mean to break her nose, it just happened."
"Yeah right,"Lily snorted.
"Lily, please." The principal silenced her with a frown.
I looked at her name stand on her desk. Alicia J. Martin it said. I looked up at the principal who was speaking.
"What did she say to you Cara?"
"She said I was an orphan and that my parents thought I was weak and that's why they didn't want me. And that I was a mistake."
"I see, and what did you do after you punched her?"
Lily glared at me with her deep brown eyes. They seemed almost black, probably like her soul.
"I walked away,"I answered. The principal looked down at her notepad and jotted down a few more notes.
"What a pile of crap," lily said angrily.
"Lily," the principal said, turning a stern look on Lily. "If she is lying, then what is your perspective on this event?"
"I didn't do anything!" Lily replied,"I was just at my locker getting ready to leave and then she came and punched me." She glared at me. I took a deep breath. She was lying, but it wouldnt help to shout out my innocence.
"Cara," the principal's stern gaze shifted to me,"Is that true?"
"No. I didn't want any trouble then she just walked up to me, her and her little posse, and she wouldn't let me leave."
"Do you really think it was necessary to punch her?"
I thought about it. In my opinion it was perfectly necessary, but in an adults opinion it wasn't. I decided to say what made her happy,"No it wasn't. Unless she were to have hit me first."
"Yes, it was not necessary."
I looked at the floor. It had an interesting carpet pattern. The colors interlaced with each other to blend into one pointless blur. Somehow it was pretty, I guess, but then again I had nothing to stare at.
"You two are lucky that we have a very small violency policy. I am going to give you a warning since this is the first, and hopefully last, dispute you two will have." Lilly snorted. "I will see you two in ISS for two weeks. I will be checking to see that you attend, Lily."
Lilly glared at me again, as if it were my fault she was in this situation. "You may go back to your classes for the rest of the day. I will see you on Monday."
Lily stood and walked out of class. I could feel her glare even though she wasn't looking at me. I couldn't wait to see what she would do after school. I stood and turned then stopped when Mrs. Martin said something."Cara, I know you have a history of getting kicked out of school for these things, but you don't seem like a bad person. I hope that less students will pick on you after this. I don't want you kicked out of this school so quickly."
I turned to look at her with my grey eyes. She had short black hair and wore a black suit. She didn't seem like a bad principal. "Thank you for giving me a chance. I hope kids will stop picking on me too. I've hoped that for a while, but whats the point in hoping anymore? Its obvious that there's something about me that no one has liked or ever will like. I'll be okay, I've made it to the 8th grade so far and im pretty sure you know I can take care of myself." I felt shocked. Crap, I thought, I've said too much and it sounded a little smart. Now I'm gonna get kicked out of my 4th school. "I'm sorry," I said,"I didn't mean-" she cut me off.
"I understand your position. I also know that many people have given up on you. I know how it feels when people give up on you, but I'm not like other people. I wont give up that easily." I shook my head and managed a fake smile. Then I walked out the door. Once I entered the hallway the smile transformed into a frown. What could she possibly understand about my position, I thought angrily. Nobody ever tried to understand and I didn't want them to. I walked up to my locker and grabbed my books for the next class and slammed it shut.
The rider took another deep breath. He had no idea how he was still here. The chimera clawed and banged at the door. It would not give up on trying to get in. At least he thought it was a chimera.
"That's a chimera? Right?" he asked.
"Yes and no," the old man replied," it seems that new creatures are appearing in this time."
The rider inhaled again. What had he gotten himself into? He was so confused.
"Any questions?" the man asked, as if this were a normal everyday thing.
"I have many, but I think I'll start with your name since I'm stuck here with you."
"I am Grandlin. What of your name?"
"I'm..." the rider faltered. He didn't know for sure if he could trust this man. Then again, he did save him from a chimera, for now. "I am Nole."
"Nice to meet you Nole. Now may I ask your age?"
"I am 16."
The old man nodded his head, or Grandlin I should say.
"What was that package I delivered?" Nole blurted out.
"That, my new friend, was a dragon egg." He said it matter-of-factly. As if he received dragon eggs all the time.
"What did you do with it?" Nole asked.
"I sent it away to a different world."
"Why?" I asked, slightly confused.
"To save it of course."
"From what?"
"Not a what, but a whom."
"Okay, from whom then?"
"I don't know."
"Well that's helpful."Nole replied sarcastically.
Grandlin smirked at him,"It is very important. There is a prophecy that only King Thrin and his knights know of."
Nole waited. "And?"
The man opened his mouth and recited a prophecy he most likely memorized, or Nole thought he memorized.
"On a night of ice and fire
A beacon of hope would come to this dying world
To be the savior, or the destroyer
Two worlds collide and change
Though not at once, but in a different time
From a young man or woman of a dragons keep
To give deliverance
All will be lost or be made"
Nole was silent. He thought about this prophecy. Why would this man tell me this? The question escaped his lips before he could stop himself. Grandlin looked at him.
"Whom do you think would be the one to deliver hope?"
"How am I supposed to know?" Then he stopped himself from continuing. Could he? No of course not. "No, if you're suggesting that it is me, trust me when I say this, its not me."
"Oh really?" the old man raised an eyebrow,"You are the one who said your life was dull."
"No, I didn't,"Nole spat out,"I said it was..." he trailed off.
"Boring, lifeless, painstakingly slow? I could go on with more words to help you finish that sentence." Grandlin replied sarcastically. Nole could find no words.
"Okay then so if I am the one who delivers the hope, then how is a dragon egg hope? Especially if you just threw it into another world?"
Grandlin thought and chose his words carefully,"Dragons were not always evil. There was a time when dragons and humans and other creatures actually lived in peace. Even the most evil monsters were not as bad as they are now."
"Oh," Nole said,"So you stole a dragon egg from the biggest mother dragon in the land and threw it into another dimension? I can see how that isn't a bad idea."
"I know you think it a rather stupid plan, but someone else will bring it back."
"So that means that I'm not the bringer of hope." Nole said hopefully, but slightly disappointed.
"Don't get your hopes up mister I don't want to be loved by all for saving our world. There can be multiple bringers of hope. We are unsure."
"What do you mean unsure?"
"I mean, we may have attempted this before."
"Before? As in you have stolen a dragon egg before and thrown it into another world?"
"Yes, but the eggs are not stolen. Well, not all of them are stolen. Maybe 1 or 2."
"Anyways," Nole said,"How long until the other person arrives?"
"Its hard to say. It may take some time."
"Well, I hope he hurries. Things here are already bad and they're gonna get a lot worse."
"what makes you say that?" asked Grandlin.
"Says the one that stole a few dragon eggs."
I walked home as fast as I could. Well, not home but it was where I slept and ate and did the things you were supposed to do in a home. I didn't want to bother waiting around for lily appear out of nowhere. I was walking through the park. It was a pretty nice park. It was very green and had trees and bushes and singing birds along with other happy things that people enjoyed. Then BAM! It started raining.
There was thunder and lightning, and the sky turned gray so fast. I didn't even expect it on a nice summer day like this. Then it started hailing.
"Aw gee, thanks mother frickin' nature. I needed a nice hailstorm to top off my day!" I yelled to the sky. I looked back down and saw a couple having a picnic staring at me. They seemed unaffected by the storm. In fact they looked perfectly dry. I spun around. Everything except me was dry! Then the hail stopped. I stepped forward and kicked something. I looked down to see a rock at my feet. It was kind of pretty so I picked it up. I looked down at it and didnt even notice the change of scenery. The Cement turned into a small, broken bowl on a cold floor. I looked up to find two men. One old and one young with brown hair and blue eyes. He wasn't half bad looking. Then realization dawned on me.
"Holly crap!" I yelled, with a jump,"Where the heck am I?"
