In the year of the dragon, in a world beyond the realms,
I, like all the others, awaited the birth of the dragon whom the prophecies foretold…
It was the eve of the new year. A great army was amassed upon a great open plain. The plain was overlooked by a forested mountainside. A harsh wind blew across the plains, beating against the steel armor of the hundreds of soldiers. Dragons of a great multitude of colors marched into position, awaiting the orders of their leaders. Far across the plains, another army was slowly marching to meet them. The enemy was formed of black-furred creatures, garbed in nightmarish armor.
At the back of the draconic army, three great dragons prepared for battle in a war tent. They were a trio of an Earth, Ice, and Lightning dragons, dressed in majestic armor that complemented their scale colors.
They were collectively known as the Guardians. They stood over a table, upon which sat a great map of the lands.
"We don't have much time." The earth guardian said, his voice deep and gruff.
"YesYes." The lightning guardian agreed. "TheDarkArmieswill beuponus atanymoment!"
The three dragons stood up and walked out of the tent, the earth dragon taking the lead. Three dragons in silver armor saluted as they emerged.
"Where is Ignitus?" The earth guardian demanded.
"He's making his way back to the temple, Sir Terrador." The middle soldier said.
The earth dragon turned his head to look upon the mountain. Upon the summit stood a majestic, stone temple, fittingly names The Dragon Temple.
Terrador sighed. "He must be seeking the egg."
"I could go after him, sir." The soldier on the right offered. He was the youngest of the soldiers, a red dragon in his late teens.
Terrador shook his head. "Your place is here, soldier."
"But-"
"I'llgoafterIgnitus!" The lightning guardian declared.
"Quite typical." The ice guardian scoffed.. "It's just like you to flee from battles."
"Enough, Cyril." Terrador interrupted. "Volteer, head after Ignitus."
"Aye!" Volteer spread his wings and flew off into the sky. He was quickly followed by two of the soldiers. Before the young fire dragon could take off, Terrador stopped him.
"Stay here."
"Why are you stopping me?!" The young dragon demanded. "I need to go help!"
"Your emotional attachment will only serve to hinder you." Terrador stated. "It is best that you stay here and fight alongside your comrades."
The young dragon looked away, anger in his eyes.
"That's an order, soldier."
The teenager gave an exasperated sigh, and saluted.
"As you command, sir."
Terrador walked past the soldier, followed by Cyril. The two Guardians stepped onto a makeshift platform, looking over the army of soldiers. The earth guardian inhaled as best as he could.
"In the name of the Ancestors," He roared, "DEFEND THIS LAND!"
The army of dragons roared in unison. They faced their oncoming enemy and charged forwards. The opposing forces roared as well, and made to face them.
And thus did the two armies clash, the elements of magic exploding all across the plains…
~~…~~
A fire dragon raced through a great forest towards a mighty temple. He was clad in armor similar to that of the guardians. He was Ignitus, Guardian of Fire. The wind brought the feint smell of ash to his nostrils. From the Cliffside, the dragon could see a fierce battle stretching into the dark horizon far below. A thousand roars of rage and clashes of metal on steel filled the sky.
Before long, the dragon finally reached the grand steps of the entrance of the temple. He panted as he slowed to a walk on the steps. He soon came to a stop before a great doorway. The door was surrounded by a massive golden circle of metal. The circle itself had three round glyphs upon it, forming a triangle formation around the door.
Ignitus took a step back, inhaled deeply, and unleashed a torrent of flames upon the door. The fire lit up the three glyphs, unlocking the door and lowering it into the ground.
"I must hurry…" He panted.
The guardian stepped through the doorway and into a large foyer. The foyer was incredibly spacious, with various doorways and hallways leading into various parts of the temple. The ceiling was lavishly decorated, and the polished floor created a clacking sound as Ignitus hurried on his way.
Ignitus ran towards the opposite end of the foyer and went through a door similar to the entryway of the temple. A sign in draconian runes was placed over the door; it read HATCHERY. He rushed through the door, not caring to close it behind himself.
Ignitus worriedly scanned the interior of the room.
The chamber was circular, with the ceiling reaching high above the dragon's head. The walls were reddish-gold , and had torches attached to keep the room illuminated. Most of the chamber floor was covered in meticulously-arranged cushions, upon which sat dragon eggs. They eggs ranged from nearly every color imaginable. A golden pool of greenish-blue water sat in the center of the chamber, bubbling and glowing mysteriously. An altar sat at the back of the room, behind which was a red banner.
All seemed to be well. The dragon sighed in relief. He approached the altar, a smile starting to form on his face.
Upon the altar was a small, golden bowl. And within this bowl was a single, purple egg. The torchlight shimmered of the shell's surface, filling Ignitus with newfound ease. He tenderly lifted the purple egg out of the bowl.
Suddenly, the entire temple shook. A great thunder crack echoed outside. Ignitus looked about in alarm. He heard hard footsteps rapidly approaching from the Hatchery door. He turned around, hiding the purple egg beneath himself.
"Ignitus!" Called a familiar voice. The fire dragon let his guard down as a lightning dragon came rushing into the chamber. He was quickly joined by several more dragons in guard uniform.
"What is it?" Ignitus demanded.
"Theenemy's rapidlyapproaching!" The lightning drake shouted in rapid succession.
"Volteer, slow down!" Ignitus exclaimed. "I can't understand you."
"I said…" Volteer took a breath. "The enemy's clashing with our army. We need to hurry to preserve the eggs while we still can!"
Ignitus' eyes lit up in horror.
"I need to get the purple one out of here!" Ignitus exclaimed.
"Butwhatoftheothers?!" Volteer demanded.
"There's no time to banter!" Ignitus continued. "You look after the other eggs. I need to do what I can to ensure they never find this one!"
The temple's ceiling shook yet again. Chunks of stone fell to the floor, and the pool of green water started spilling. In the distance, Ignitus could hear the clatter of war growing louder.
Volteer stammered for a moment, but took another deep breath.
"Go with Ancestors' speed." He said.
Ignitus nodded. He looked down upon the purple egg. Thinking quickly, he scooped it up in one paw and bolted back towards the entryway. He used his fire breath to light the glyphs and took to flight the second he got outside.
As Ignitus flew away, he could see a great fire forming to the south. Down below, battalions of dragons engaged in battle against countless furred monsters.
Down below, Terrador spotted the fire guardian flying towards the east. He lifted off into the air, making his way through the sky as fast as his wings could move.
"Ignitus!" The earth guardian called out. Ignitus slowed down and watched as Terrador caught up with him.
"Where are you going?" Terrador demanded.
"I'm taking this one to safety, Terrador." Ignitus said. "We can't let them find it!"
"What of the other eggs?" Terrador asked.
"Volteer is seeing to them! I'll aid in their transportation as soon as I've ensured this one's safety!"
"Time is of the essence!" The earth dragon exclaimed. "We don't have time for you to worry about just one egg!"
"This is the purple egg!" Ignitus snapped. "We can't risk the Dark Master's forces finding it!"
"Ugh…" Terrador shook his head. " Very well. But you mustn't travel alone."
"You need to stay with the army, Terrador. This is my mission."
"But Ignitus-"
"There's no time for banter!"
"Very well, Ignitus." Terrador moved to fly back towards the army. "May the ancestors guide you!"
The fire dragon flew off into the distance as Terrador returned to his post in the army. Thus did the war rage on…
~~...~~
How long had Ignitus fly? Time seemed to hold no meaning in the seemingly endless night. Had he passed into the borderlands by now? Would he be able to make it back in time to aid in the war?
There was no way for Ignitus to know any of that. What he DID know, however, was that he had traveled into some strange new part of the forest. Instead of trees, the thicket was composed of massive mushrooms that reached up to the sky. A feint, mystical aura hung in the air, accompanied by an endless chorus of chirping crickets.
Ignitus came to a landing in a clearing in the woods. All around the clearing were small, multicolored creatures that flew on four wings.
Dragonflies.
The dragon approached the dragonflies slowly and cautiously. "Excuse me…"
A few of the dragonflies stopped and looked at him.
"What brings a dragon to this neck of the woods?" A red dragonfly demanded.
"I need your help." Ignitus pleaded. He placed the egg down on the ground before himself.
"What is THAT?" A green dragonfly demanded.
"I need you to take in this egg. Keep it safe from the outside world."
"Hold on." The blue dragonfly said. "You're from that temple, aren't you?"
"Yes. My name is Ignitus, and I need to keep this egg safe from harm."
"And just what's in it for us?" The green dragonfly demanded.
"Whatever it is you'd want in return, I cannot reciprocate immediately." Ignitus said. "But I swear on my title as Guardian that I'll return the favor someday."
The dragonflies looked amongst each other.
"What do you two think?" The blue dragonfly asked.
"It's not every day that someone from the bloody Dragon Temple comes here, Flash." The red one said.
"This could be a big deal, Sean." The green dragonfly stated.
"But how are we supposed to care for a dragon egg?" Sean asked.
"I'll take charge of the egg." Flash said.
"You sure about that?"
"Yes." Flash flew up to Ignitus' face. "We'll look after the egg for you."
"Thank you." Ignitus carefully pushed the egg a bit forwards towards the dragonflies. "You have my word, I'll repay this favor someday."
"I'll hold you to that." Flash replied.
The dragon bent his head down to the egg.
"May the Ancestors look after you. May they look after us all."
And with that, he took to the skies and flew away.