This book is
Dedicated to
Derian Wall
Who has been
There in the
Hardest times
Of my life
And was a
Better friend
Than I ever was
Thank you
WHITECRAFT
PART 1
Prologue: The Hiding
Pearl Cave, Mexico
A White dragon padded through the dense undergrowth, the full moon was high in the sky and stars were littered through. The night was met by a foreboding stench of death and horror. Many times, an owl could be heard hooting though the woods. Nothing moved, it seemed the earth itself was still.
Eventually, the dragon came upon a grey cliff wall; it was decorated with intricate lines and patterns so faint they were almost invisible to the eye. The dragon sniffed, no-one was approaching. He was safe. The wind began to pick up and brush softly against the deep green leaves of the forest, the trees knew what was happening, they could sense the terror.
The moon was directly above him now, and the lines on the cliff face started to glow silver. It grew brighter and brighter until the very light from the patterns illuminated the entire clearing around him. The lines began to move outwards, forming the shape of a perfect circle. The rock crumbled as the moon proceeded to shine, and it revealed a massive room, The Pearl Cave otherwise known as. Within there was a circle of creatures, one each representing each race; Griffons, Elves, Dwarves, Minotaurs, Centaurs and Air, Water, Fire and Earth Dragons.
"Greetings Whitecraft, you have come far to meet us here, thank you." said a glittering blue water dragon.
"Thank me, you should not. I come here because I must." Whitecraft responded. "We are here to discuss the two urgent matters that the world is facing. We all know the age of Alaria is ending, we all know that if we do not do some thing we will all perish. We can't stop it, but we can escape a worse fate."
"Firstly the humans have destroyed us; there numbers are just too many. If we try to fight, we will all die!" growled the dwarf present holding a war-axe to big for him.
"A solution must be found. And surely with the world's greatest minds we can find one!" The heads were turned to the slim figure of an elf. She had hers eyes fixed on them challengingly.
"Only when we unite shall we find an answer!" yelled the dwarf. It was then Whitecraft let out a deafening roar, silencing everyone instantly.
"Dwilburn! Lilmandel! Teshirl!" his gaze landed on the water dragon, dwarf and elf in turn. "Then let us unite on this dark night and triumph!" he roared ferociously. Nods were littered through the circle. "To do this we must look at what we have, what we can use, and what will be most effective in hiding us from the humans."
Lilmandel the elf spoke up. "The elves control one great forest in the south of America that is dreadfully feared by humans. We have made sure that they never return from going into it. It also has a series of tunnels under the roots of our trees it, large tunnels that could even conceal you Dragons. If we cut off most of the entrances we could use it as our home temporarily." She drew an arrow to her bow carefully, as if she expected attack.
"Yes and the dwarves can easily dig deep underground and live in peace. Yes, that should work. What about the Griffons?" Dwilburn craned his short head towards the proud griffon that had his head held high.
"I'm afraid it will be hard for us to hide. The only chance we have would to go in deserts or mountains. Many of us can't stand the cold, so that's not possible. As for deserts, it's the same with heat. We might as well die." He muttered hopelessly, his head now hanging low in shame.
"No Iruil, none of you will die. Use Atlantis." said the earth dragon. Iruil lifted his gaze to the earth dragon.
" Atlantis? That god-forsaken place hasn't been used in a hundred years! It since has been overrun by deep sea monsters! We might not return if we inhabited that place!" responded Iruil alarmed. He clicked his beak in frustration and stamped in the floor giving an air of command.
"It is your last hope I'm afraid. And surely the mighty race of Griffons can kill a few sea monsters!" proclaimed Dwilburn mockingly, raising his hands as if he were preaching. Iruil screeched in anger and flexed his claws.
"Of course we can! I guess we have to live there then." mumbled Iruil solemnly. The cave rumbled and shook, a storm was mustering outside the cave. Everyone was silent and thinking hard. The one who had not spoken before, the centaur stepped forward and began to speak.
"And what of my kind?" growled the centaur, narrowing his eyes. "Have you not thought of those that have preserved history since the beginning of time and recorded the happenings of the world! Without us, history would be forgotten! For without looking to the past we cannot prepare for-."
"We have not forgotten your kind master Heralm." Whitecraft said quietly. "We are perfectly aware of your influence upon this world. I have a solution already prepared for you and your kind. Ever since I knew that this was inevitable I have been laying enchantments upon a certain spot in the north of Asia. These enchantments will hold as long as at least one centaur is within the enchantment's boundaries. They will deflect humans and make it look unwelcoming and dangerous to human eyes. This will hopefully keep them away." Heralm smiled gratefully.
"Thank you Whitecraft. I was sure I could rely you." Whitecraft just nodded and closed his eyes. Tishirl growled deep within her throat, slapping her tail on the ground impatiently.
"What is it?" asked Whitecraft. His eyes fixed on her blue eyes
"The humans have poisoned everything. The air, waters and the earth itself, I lost a father to their wickedness!" she snarled and stamped her foot down.
"Now is not the time Tirshirl. We have heard of your father's death, and he should be here now, but we can discuss later." Whitecraft responded with a stern look at her. Her tears splashed to the dark, stone ground. She nodded and continued to sob.
Whitecraft continued to speak. "The Air dragons can disguise themselves and travel in clouds without being seen. Earth dragons can blend into and make themselves like hills for hibernation. The water dragons will live in the water and the deep or mountains; and the Fire dragons will inhabit such places as volcanoes. Agreed?" The other three dragons nodded in agreement. "Good, that's everyone! Now to our second problem, the Black Mind, the Black Hand, and their army of Predators. We have all seen the evidence of the foul creatures returning to power, and that they are mustering an army once again."
Dwilburn spoke. "Surely it cannot be that bad. We annihilated them those years ago before my forefathers. We should worry about them when it gets serious!"
Lilmandel scowled at him and shook her fist angrily. "If you believe that Dwilburn, you are a fool. I have lived long and I was there at their first uprising. When the Black Mind and Hand first created their fortress and began to summon an army, we dismissed it as no threat, and only a month later the world was at war with them. It was only yet thanks again to Whitecraft we were warned of the danger! Not dealing with it nearly destroyed us once. If we don't deal with it now, the same thing could happen!"
Dwilburn was brandishing his axe. "You have forgotten one thing, elf. We can't do anything! If we try, the humans will know and slaughter us all! Surely you don't want that to happen?"
"Of course I don't," she hissed at him. "But as soon as possible we must try to defeat them."
"Finally we agree on something, elf!" Dwilburn redirected his gaze to the ceiling, swearing under his breath.
"We are all forgetting something to do with regaining peace and our homes." whispered Whitecraft.
"And what would this be?" Iruil asked curiously.
"The prophecy." gasps and mutterings scattered round the circle. The prophecy should not have been forgotten. It was given to them right after the first fall of the Predators.
There will be four
Friends of your enemies
Destined to save you
Ever since it had come, they had been deeply puzzled by it. Even their best philosophers couldn't find it out. The prophecy was given up on after so many years of attempts to uncover its secret.
"I have a feeling of its meaning," said Whitecraft. "But I shall not share it with you, it could be wrong, like most theories of it. But I shall tell you this; the prophecy I am sure will unravel its mystery sooner than you think. In the world of men it will begin."
The heads of many creatures stared at him in awe and confusion.
"We shan't ask of you to reveal your secrets," said Iruil. "Though we would greatly appreciate it, as we know not even if you were the world you wouldn't tell of them to us." Whitecraft wordlessly gazed at him.
"Equa, you have not said a word all night." Whitecraft calmly stated. Equa lifted her delicate head, she was the last of her race, the Omaras. They were tree spirits, but all their mighty forest was cut down by the ruthless humans. She had escaped only through the sacrifice of others, and it weighed deep on her heart. A tear rolled down her smooth cheek.
"The end of the Omaras has come. The tree guardians are no more. It is up to you to preserve my brothers and sisters. After this, I shall turn myself in to the humans and try to persuade them to stop hunting us, I will most likely fail." She whimpered. Omaras were very emotional beings.
"Your sacrifice is your own choice. It may buy us some time. Thank-you." Said Lilmandel. Equa just nodded slowly, leaves floating to the dusty ground. After a long silence in gratitude for Equa's sacrifice, Dwilburn spoke.
"Whitecraft, you still haven't told us of what you shall do in this time." He narrowed his eyes.
"I shall simply prepare for the arrival of our saviours, and look for signs of their coming. Now that we are agreed, and it is almost dawn, we must part our separate ways. We all know our place, and I must fly."
At that, the cave entrance yawned open and they began to walk outside. Each knowing the survival of their race was resting on their shoulders. For if the message did not get to their kind, that race was lost.
