(Well, this one was the winner! And I'm happy it was because I am really excited for this story. I did a lot of research on dragons and the legends and myths surrounding them and dug around in Tolkien's masterpiece creation of Middle-Earth. I can only hope this story ends up being as amazing as it sounded in my head. Bear with this first chapter, it picks up after this. I tried to model this chapter to sound a bit like Tolkien but I know I failed at that so don't bother telling me. I have a playlist that I listen to as I write this story. I'll post a song or instrumental piece suggestion with every update. The first song I suggest you listen to is 'Dragon' by John Flynn, along with 'Song of the Lonely Mountain' [Extended Version] by Neil Finn.

Just to let you know, I heard Liam Neeson's voice in my head as I wrote Laven.)

Chapter One

Middle-Earth

There was a time when the world was known as Middle-Earth; when magic was in the very air you breathed. Creatures such as elves, hobbits, dwarves, goblins, orcs, and wizards lived in this world and not between the pages of a book. Perhaps you are already familiar with these creatures and have heard about their involvement in the discovery and destruction of a powerful ring? If so, then you know how it came to be discovered by a hobbit named, Bilbo Baggins of Bag-End. You know of his adventure with thirteen dwarves to reclaim the kingdom of Erebor from a wicked dragon. But do you know of the story of the beast; the dragon, Smaug?

It was widely known that he was a fire drake from the North who came and drove out the dwarves of Erebor so that he could gain their vast treasure. But that is not where his story begins. His story actually begins nearly a hundred years before he overtook Erebor. His story begins… in a cave in the Grey Mountains…

Dragons from all corners of Middle-Earth had gathered together in this cave-not all of them, mind you, but quite a number. They were a proud and powerful race, long thought to be indestructible…until the day they discovered that they were not.

Whispers, rumors had begun to swirl among the dragons that their kind were being hunted. "By whom?" some would ask. "Nearly every race has a dragon hunting party," would be the answer. "How came this to be?" would be asked next and the ones who knew would tell them of what had transpired.

An old dragon, who was too weak to fight back, fell under the blades and arrows of a hunting party. They harvested his body for the usual resources; meat for food, hide for clothes, his teeth, claws, and scales for weapons. It was completely by accident that the people discovered more uses for a dragon's body. A tooth had been left behind and trampled in the dirt of a field. That field's harvest was the most plentiful they had ever witnessed. The weapons that were used to cut up the dragon, covered in its blood, now were able to pierce the strongest armor and shields.

Upon this discovery, dragon hunting parties were formed to hunt down the beasts. New weapons formed from their very teeth and claws were fashioned and fighting strategies were made to successfully bring down dragon. As time passed, their numbers dwindled. By the time the dragons realized how serious the situation was they were on the verge of extinction.

A group of eight dragons were in the center of the cave. They were led by Laven, a blue scaled dragon who lived in the West. He and the others were in agreement to seek out the help of a wizard who was sympathetic to the dragons' plight. But the other dragons scoffed at the idea. The eldest dragon of the entire gathering, Glindrail, was appointed as the head of the gathering and would hear out each side of the argument. He was a very old dragon, so old that his scales which had once been gold were now all becoming pure white. It was rumored that he was a direct descendent of Ancalagon the Black, the father of the winged drakes.

Glindrail listened carefully to Laven and his small group as they once again pleaded with the others to join them in their journey to the wizard who had agreed to help them. He listened with equal patience to the opposing side as well. Once both sides had been heard out, Glindrail turned his spiked head to look at the red and gold dragon on his right.

"Smaug, what are your thoughts?" Glindrail's voice was a voice that never rose above a normal speaking volume. Everyone ceased what they were doing to listen to Glindrail.

Though he was not the eldest dragon, nor the second or third eldest, Smaug was still considered a great dragon. His pride and wealth was well known throughout Middle-Earth and his wrath was indescribable.

"I would rather be descaled and my wings torn off than to go to a human for help," Smaug's cold voice replied to Glindrail's question.

"He's not a human; he's a wizard!" Laven insisted.

Smaug narrowed his golden eyes at Laven, a bold move considering Laven was centuries older than him. "A wizard is nothing more than a human with a longer lifespan and a talent at conjuring."

"This wizard is no amateur conjurer."

"All the same, we do not need the help of a wizard."

"Smaug is right," another dragon spoke up. "Our race will thrive once more. Many of our non-present females did not gather with us so that they could watch over their nests. Within months we shall be welcoming new dragons!"

A cheerful murmur rose from the other dragons.

"Not as many as you think." Voices stopped at Laven's words. "None shall come from the West, for I am the last."

The voices rose with a different tone now. Glindrail and Smaug exchanged looks.

"I am not the only one who has become the sole survivor of their kind." Laven nudged a knucker and a bucca dragon forward from his small group. Both cringed at the sudden attention. The brown knucker's heavily spined earflaps were folded flat against his head as he nervously eyed the other dragons. The bucca, being the shyest of all dragon species, looked as though he would dart away any second. Neither one had the courage to speak so Laven took it upon himself to tell their story.

"As you all know, knuckers and buccas cannot fly…which is how they were so easily hunted down and killed."

"Humans are not that strong," Smaug insisted loudly.

"Then why are we becoming so few!" Laven shouted. "The humans are using our own scales, teeth, and blood against us!"

A gargouille in Laven group (not to be confused with gargoyles though they are similar in appearance) respectfully stepped forward. "I am Brekken of the gargouilles, and I can assure you that this is the truth. I am able to blend in with stone and was able to steal into a kingdom constructed of stone. I spied on the peoples activities. They are making their armor from our scales and hides, washing their weapons in our blood!"

Glindrail solemnly bowed his head at the news. Smaug's snout was furiously producing plumes of smoke. There were a few beats of silence before Glindrail spoke. "Are you not on friendly terms with the humans, Laven?" He turned his gaze to Brekken. "And do the gargouilles not live close by kingdoms made of stone? Were you not in constant contact with the humans?"

A mischievous smirk appeared on Brekken's almost beak-like mouth. "They may not have been aware of my kinds' presence," he answered.

"The humans do not recognize friend from foe anymore. They even attack each other now," Laven informed sadly.

Smaug knew of Laven's fondness for humans and found it sickening. How could a dragon feel anything but disgust or hunger for such pathetic creatures?

"Trouble is fast approaching," Laven continued, "and if we don't act now, then I fear for the future of our kind. We have pleaded with you long enough and shall not wait any longer. We fly tonight to Mirkwood where Radagast the Brown awaits us. Those of you who wish to join us are welcome."

…

That night, Laven and the other seven dragons waited inside the now empty cave in the hopes of having a few more join them. Laven stood at the cave entrance, searching the skies for any sign of an approaching dragon. His ears could not even pick up the sound of wings. He hung his head low in disappointment. It would soon be time to begin their flight to Mirkwood…and no one was coming.

The sound of two clawed feet hesitantly coming towards him met his ears. Using his long neck to bring his head around, Laven met eyes with Brekken. "Well?" the gargouille asked anxiously. Laven sadly closed his eyes and shook his head. Brekken began to rub his human-like hands nervously. "This isn't good."

"No, it isn't," Laven agreed. "Seven males…one female."

Brekken moved closer to Laven so they could talk in low whispers. "How are we going to preserve our race if the only female we have is…?" He cast a pitying glance at the green-scaled dragon who had removed herself from the others and was sitting alone.

"I am well aware of the situation with Sylvaya, though I do not recall telling you about her condition." Laven fixed Brekken with a pointed stare.

Brekken looked at the ground and made a shallow trench in the sand with his toe claw. "I overheard a few females talking about her."

"Overheard?"

"Well, I might have blended in with the stones and eavesdropped," Brekken admitted. He shrugged his scaly shoulders. "I can't help it if they whisper so loud." Another glance at Sylvaya. "Is she still trying to pursue Smaug as her mate?"

Laven sighed. "Yes. But Smaug will never choose her."

"Because she's barren?"

"Yes, because she's barren. And because our species of dragon- Smaug, Sylvaya, and I- mate for life; and Smaug loves nothing but himself and gold."

"it's bad manners to talk about someone when they're not present," came a new voice.

Laven instantly recognized the smooth, velvety voice. "Smaug, you were the last dragon I expected to show," Laven said with surprise.

Smaug the Magnificent appeared from the shadows, silent as the night. He was the only dragon who had mastered the ability to move with such stealth that even other dragons' keen ears could not detect his movements. "I supposed accepting this wizard's help this once would be far less humiliating than being slaughtered by non-magical beings who would then proceed to use my carcass for their means." His golden eyes scanned the cave. "Is this it then?" He scoffed. "Eight males and one barren female?" His scaly lips pulled back in a sneer at the sight of Sylvaya. "We're off to a fine start."

"We will wait a little longer but then we must go. Radagast will be waiting for us," Laven said.

But no other dragons came.

It was too dangerous to travel by ground for the flightless dragons, so the bucca and knucker rode on the backs of Laven and another dragon named Relin. Their flight was uneventful and Radagast was indeed waiting for them at the edge of the forest.

"Oh my, oh my," he tittered, smiling at the majestic beasts as they landed around hm and tucked in their wings. His smile dimmed when he noticed how few there were. "Wait!' He began to turn in a circle, counting the dragons aloud as he did. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven-oh! Hello, Laven!-eight, nine…only…only nine? But I thought-?"

"They were unwilling to come, my friend," Laven explained.

Smaug took a moment to study Radagast and felt cheated. He pictured a great and powerful wizard in fine clothes and a clean appearance. The man before him was neither of those things. Radagast wasn't tall and imposing, nor was he wearing fine clothes; he wore raggedy brown robes and a dirty hat. His grey beard was long and unkempt with bits of twigs and leaves stuck in it. The wizard either didn't know or he didn't care that there was dried bird excrement all down the right side of his face. He carried a wooden staff with some sort of a blue stone encased in the distorted top of the staff.

"Perhaps others will change their minds later. You told them where to find me just in case?"

"I did."

"Oh, well, we can only hope for more in the days to come."

"Enough chatter!" Smaug's voice bellowed. "You said you could help us? If you lied, I will not hesitate to end your miserable life."

A gleam appeared in Radagast's blue eyes and a confident smile curled his lips. "I'd like to see you try," he challenged in a calm tone.

A rumble was heard from Smaug. Laven put himself between them. "Enough! Radagast would not lie to me, and even if he did I would know. You forget, Smaug, that I know when man speaks truth or lies."

Smaug narrowed his golden eyes at Radagast but the old man didn't so much as blink. He stared right back at the dragon. Smaug barred his teeth in a final warning and backed away.

"Well, if you can manage it, I'd like to get into the forest so no eyes in the sky can see us. Apparently, the birds have been bullied by you dragons enough to turn them into spies for the hunting parties."

Laven eyed the forest for a moment. "We shall have to crawl on our bellies," he said.

"Smaug the Magnificent does not crawl on his belly in the dirt!" the dragon growled.

"For the time being he does!" Laven bellowed back, flicking his tail in irritation. He did not wait for a response; he dipped his head at Radagast and indicated the forest. "After you," he said.

Radagast smiled and placed a hand on the dragon's scaled front foot. "I am so sorry it had to come to this, Laven." He entered the woods and Laven lowered himself as close as he could to the ground, inching into the woods. Smaug noticed the others were watching him. He gave an annoyed snort and followed Laven's example. The others did the same.

Smaug was surprised to find a clearing in the woods big enough for them to crouch in a circle around Radagast. Seeing their confused expressions, a talent Radagast had acquired by befriending Laven, he explained, "I convinced a few trees to make some room for you tonight. Look." He pointed his staff upward to reveal that the trees had also rearranged their branches to cover the gap their move would have made from above in the tree tops. "They even hid us from sky spies."

"Let's get on with it," the brown knucker dragon said nervously. "I want to be safe."

"And you will be, Sungar," Laven assured him.

Sungar's ear flaps pricked up. "But how?"

"By turning you into the very beings that hunt you," Radagast announced proudly.

"What!" Smaug thundered.

"It's a transformation spell that will allow you to become shape-shifters. You will be both a dragon and a human. You can change shape just by willing it to happen."

"Of all the degrading-," Sylvaya hissed.

"Have you any better ideas?"

"Why not attack the humans? We've demolished kingdoms before-."

"That was when they were not using our own advantages against us," Laven reminded her. "We have no other choice. This spell will give us the safety we need until we come up with a better way to counter this threat." The blue dragon met Radagast's eyes. "I trust your judgment."

"I for one do not!"

"That has been quite obvious, Smaug."

"Laven-."

"Do not question me, Smaug!" The forest trembled at the power in Laven's voice and then all was still. Smaug offered no apology and remained silent.

"Are you ready?" Radagast asked the small group. No one objected. "Then I shall begin."

(Okay, I originally planned for there to be more in this chapter, but that soon proved to be a bit difficult due to my schedule. I hope this has caught your interest though. I want to hear from you Readers! What do you think so far?)