Alah of Avalon
By Kainthegreat
Chapter 1
The Golden Dragon
Professor Rotwood was walking home from yet another unsuccessful day. His newest attempt to expose Jake Long's dragon form had been foiled. If he could only get a single photo of Jake transforming he could expose magical creatures forever. It wasn't easy, however, Jake was smarter than he thought. Rotwood bared his teeth, there had to be someway.
As Rotwood continued with his brooding he heard a loud crash in a nearby alleyway. Out of curiosity he dashed across the street to the alleyway. To his surprise luck had finally turned to his favor. A small golden dragon lay unconscious upon the ground. Its bat-like wings hung over its glittering body and its horned head laid flat upon the ground.
Rotwood rubbed his hands together, "Finally a real life dragon at my fingertips, now I can prove the genius I really am!"
He hurried to a clothesline and pulled down a large dusty gray blanket and threw it over the dragon. Then he found an abandoned shopping cart and pulled it over to the hidden dragon. It took all the strength he had to lift the dragon into the cart; once it was in he checked to make sure that none of the scales were showing. Satisfied with his clever idea he hurried the cart out of the alley and into the crowded sidewalk, unaware that he was being watched. Jake Long, the American dragon, watched as Rotwood melted into the crowd. He flew from the building he was on and hurried to find his grandpa.
Rotwood carefully looked around before he entered into his warehouse filled with different magical artifacts. He entered the cool building making sure that the door closed behind him. Pushing the cart over to a large glass encasement he stopped and opened a door. Lifting the dragon up he struggled into the encasement and placed it carefully down. After taking a moment to catch his breath he removed the blanket only to receive a horrifying sight. A large jagged burn mark, ironically in the shape of a dragon, ran from the corner of the dragon's right eye all the way along its neck to the middle of its body.
Rotwood knelt beside the dragon and examined the burn, "Hmm, magnesium mixed with pixie dust, interesting." Standing up he hurried to a nearby table and two vials, "Bat's blood and Phoenix ash should heal the burn."
Just as Rotwood was about to return to the dragon the door to the warehouse was blown open by a red and blue dragon. The red dragon was young and had a mane of green and black hair upon its head. The other was much older and looked as though it had leapt out of a Chinese legend.
The red dragon, Jake, took a step towards Rotwood, "Alright Rotwood hand over the magical creature you nabbed off the streets."
Knowing that it was futile to resist the two dragons Rotwood put his hands up in a sign of surrender, "Fine, Fine! Just let me administer this tonic to the dragon's burn!"
As Rotwood walked towards the golden dragon he heard a gasp escape from the elder dragon, "A golden dragon! How can this be? There hasn't been a golden dragon for nearly a thousand years!"
Jake looked at the elder dragon, "Gramps?"
The older dragon shook away his shock, "The prophecy is at hand."
"What prophecy?" asked Rotwood.
The older dragon closed his eyes, "It is said that a golden dragon will be born to fight and end the dark dragon's evil."
"What is this dark dragon?" Rotwood asked anxiously.
Jake glared at Rotwood, "A dragon that you wouldn't even dare to try and capture Rotwood. He hates humans and anything that cares about them."
"And if he finds out about the golden dragon he will kill her and anyone who knows about her," the elder dragon added sternly.
"Her? How do you know she is a girl?" asked Rotwood.
"Girl dragons are usually smaller than boys, but are a lot stronger. I am sure that she is about the same age as my grandson. Also," the elderly dragon narrowed his eyes to examine the burn, "that burn would have killed any normal dragon."
"A huntsclan weapon," nodded Jake, "Recruits 97 and 98 are starting to get better."
The Chinese dragon shook his head, "No matter." He looked at Rotwood, "Professor Rotwood you must promise us that you will care for this dragon and to keep her a secret. If you fail and the dark dragon finds her, he will kill you both."
Rotwood cursed his misfortune in his mind, but had no choice but to say, "I will care for her as if she were my own child."
The Chinese dragon flew out of the doorway, but before Jake left he turned to Rotwood, "At least you'll have a small taste of what magical creatures go through."
When Jake had left, Rotwood returned his attention to the golden dragon. Entering the encasement he knelt down and applied the tonic to her wound. As he was doing so he couldn't help but admire how each scale glistened in the light. He could imagine that she looked like a streak of fire as she flew through the air. Once he had carefully applied the tonic the burn he stood up and nearly regretted leaving the dragon. However, he knew that it was better to leave her to her dreams.
Two days went by with no sign of the golden dragon waking. It wasn't until the third day that Rotwood was surprised to see her awake and looking around. By then he had added padded cushions to the encasement so that she would be comfortable. As he walked towards her she stared at him with luminous green eyes. She was lying upon her belly with her forepaws crossed in front of her. When Rotwood opened the door she made no movement of escape as he had feared, instead she simply stared calmly at him.
"Well it is nice to see you up," Rotwood smiled.
"Where am I?" She simply asked in a soothing calm voice.
"You are in New York City. I am Professor Rotwood, I found and cared for you."
"I am Alah of Avalon. The priests have sent me to be trained by Master Lou Shi. You said I have arrived in the city of New York, then do you know him?
Rotwood shook his head, "I'm afraid that I don't."
"Then do you know of the American dragon? Lou Shi is his grandfather."
Rotwood paused, so the Chinese dragon was Jake's grandfather, "Yes, I know of the American Dragon and I know where we can find him and his grandfather."
Alah stood up onto her hindpaws, "Then let us hurry!"
Rotwood waved his hands, "Wait! You can't go out in your dragon form!"
Alah stared at him with a puzzled look, "Why not?"
"Well for one thing people around here aren't used to seeing dragons and another you were attacked by a huntsman."
A blue haze surrounded the dragon and when it dispersed a fourteen-year-old girl dressed in golden robes stood in its place. She had long golden hair that hung loosely over her shoulders. Her green eyes sparkled brightly at Rotwood and he noticed to his dismay that the same dragon shaped scar ran from the tip of her green eye as it did on the dragon. Rotwood felt a horrible pity for the young girl, she would have to bear the scar for the rest of her years.
Alah smiled at Rotwood, "You have heard of the hunters? And you still would protect me? You are very brave for a scholar."
Rotwood nodded, "You said you came from Avalon? Is it true that King Arthur is buried there?"
Alah nodded gingerly, "Yes, in fact at night you can hear his spirit recite the knight's code of honor."
"And is Avalon as beautiful as legends tell."
Alah smiled, "If you would like I could take you there one day."
Rotwood stared dumbfounded at her and nodded, "That would be wonderful, but why is it that no one besides the priests have ever been to Avalon? Many people have tried to find it, but have failed."
"Avalon can only be found by those who know where it is."
Rotwood turned her words in his head trying to make sense of them, "Hmm. I'm not quite sure of what you mean. Perhaps I'll understand when we arrive find Lou Shi."
Rotwood lead the curious girl from the warehouse and out into the streets of New York. As they were walking along the sidewalks Alah looked all around her with confusion and curiosity shining in her eyes. Though Rotwood was still burning to expose the young dragon he couldn't help but to admire her. His promise to Lou Shi and Jake Long wouldn't be too hard to keep; he would take care of her as though she were his own child.
"You seem confused by the city," he noted.
Alah nodded, "Your land is very strange. The priests have never let me leave Avalon until now. When I first seen the city I thought the buildings were strange towers of some enormous castle, but now I know that they are not." She pointed to a car, "I thought that those were monsters, but if that were true then people would surely be running from them."
Rotwood smiled, "That is an automobile. People drive them to their destinations."
"Oh! So they are like horses, but they don't look like they are living, what do they feed off of?"
Rotwood shook his head and laughed, "They are not at all like horses. They are more like carts that move without the need of a horse."
Alah frowned, "I don't understand."
They continued down the street with Rotwood still explaining to her how the automobile ran. Alah soon understood and asked about other items around her such as vending machines, airplanes, and other such things. Once they had walked by electronic store and Alah asked about the televisions, stereos, and video cameras. Rotwood never tired of answering her questions; instead he found that he liked teaching this new subject. It was more enjoyable then being a mythology teacher or principal could ever be.
He was answering one of her questions when suddenly she stopped. She took a single glance down an alleyway and ran down it while transforming. Rotwood tried to keep up with her, but found that the dragon was much faster than him. The goblin in the alley had his full attention on a small jaguar in front of him unaware of the golden dragon streaking towards him. With a flick of her thick tail Alah landed a blow to the goblin's head. The creature tumbled backwards in an unconscious heap on the dank ground. The jaguar stood up shakily on its hind legs and peered up at Alah with its golden eyes.
"Thank you very much dragon." He bowed, "If you had not arrived that awful goblin would have used me as a purse."
Rotwood ran up to Alah's side almost surprised at how tall she stood, "Is everything alright Alah?"
The golden dragon smiled and nodded, "Everything is fine."
The jaguar looked at Rotwood with confusion, "A human?"
Alah introduced Rotwood to the jaguar, "This is my friend, Professor Rotwood, he is helping me find Master Lou Shi."
The jaguar peered uncertainly at Rotwood and then finally spoke, "My name is Sagi, and yours dragon?"
Alah transformed into her human form and replied, "I am Alah of Avalon."
The jaguar knelt his head once more, "Then Alah of Avalon I am in your debt. Will you allow me to be your animal guardian?"
"Of course."
Rotwood hesitated, "Are you sure we can trust him Alah?"
Alah turned and looked at Rotwood uncertainty, "What do you mean?"
Sagi also turned towards Rotwood, "Yes human, please explain why I am less trustworthy than yourself."
Rotwood glared at the jaguar, "How do we know you don't work for the dark dragon?"
Sagi looked from Alah to Rotwood with wide eyes, "Oh, that's right. She's a golden dragon." He bowed his head, "I'm sorry I didn't realize why you were being careful Mr. Rotwood. I am not an agent of the dark one."
Rotwood nodded, "So you say, but I will keep an eye on you."
Sagi looked up at Rotwood, "Good, then that means you will be protecting Alah as you should. We all must be careful during these times."
"Who is this dark dragon?" Alah asked all of a sudden.
Sagi and Rotwood looked up at her mouths open as though just remembering that she was there, Sagi was the first to speak, "He's someone we shouldn't speak of in the open."
"I don't really know who he is just that the American dragon and his grandfather told me to keep you a secret so that he would not find out about you."
Alah folded her arms, "Neither of you really know do you?"
They both shook their heads and Alah laughed, "Well I'm sure master Lou Shi should know. Let's hurry and find him."
Lou Shi looked up from his counter when he heard the door of his shop open. He smiled kindly at the golden haired girl that walked in with Rotwood and a housecat sized jaguar. So this was the golden dragon's human form, and he was right about her age, she seemed to be fifteen years old, maybe fourteen. Lou Shi leapt down from his stool and walked over to the girl.
Bowing Lou Shi said, "Welcome young dragon I was hoping that I would meet you soon."
The girl returned his bow, "Thank you. You are Lou Shi, correct? I am Alah of Avalon."
"It is an honor to meet you Alah. So tell me, why have you come to New York?"
Alah paused and looked around the room thoughtfully, "The high priestess of Avalon sent me here to be trained by you. She spoke of some grave event that is soon to come."
Lou Shi closed his eyes and nodded, "I know of what she speaks, but I'm afraid that I can not train you until I have finished training my grandson. It is the dragon law for a master to only train one student at a time."
Alah looked down at the floor with a gloomy look in her eyes, "Oh."
Lou Shi could only look helplessly into Alah's jade colored eyes, until a small wrinkled dog walked into the room, "Rose might be able to train her."
Rotwood looked over to the dog, "Rose? Why Rose?"
"Believe it or not," The dog looked up at Rotwood, "Rose used to be a hunter, and she even faced the dark dragon," the dog quickly put a paw over his mouth, "Oops."
"Aye Yah! Fu dog!" Lou Shi shouted while waving his arm.
Alah looked curiously at Lou Shi, "Rotwood and Sagi already mentioned the dark dragon. Who is he?"
Lou Shi fumbled with his words, "Uh, he is, uh…"
Fu dog shook his head, "Gramps I know you didn't want to tell her but either you do or I will."
Lou Shi shook his head, "Very well," he looked from face to face until he came back to Alah, "The dark dragon is a very powerful dragon that has turned evil. He wants nothing more than the destruction of the entire human race. No one knows who he is or why he hates humans so badly, but we all know and fear his power. Both my grandson and myself have faced him more than our share, and it has cost us dearly."
"But this last battle they had with him resulted in old dark and ugly to be locked away in a dimensional limbo for the next thousand years," Fu finished.
"He won't remain there for long though," Lou Shi replied solemnly.
"That means I will have to fight him when he returns," Alah said thoughtfully.
Lou Shi nodded, "Yes, it is your destiny to put an end to his madness."
"Very well," She clapped her hands together, "Where can I find this Rose?"
Fu dog walked towards the door, "Follow me kid."
As Fu lead Alah and Sagi out Lou stopped Rotwood, "Give me your camera Professor."
Rotwood paused and gaped at Lou, "But, I…"
"During these times it is not a good idea to be posting pictures of a golden dragon around."
"I wasn't about to…"
"Now Professor!"
Rotwood reluctantly handed his camera to the old man and stormed out of the store. With a quick move Lou crushed the camera in his hand letting the pieces to fall to the ground. Last thing he ever wanted was for the human race to find out about the existence of magical creatures when the dark dragon was on the rise to power. The dark one was something the humans should never have to fear.
Jake and his friend Trixie and Spud were skateboarding at the skate park when Fu arrived with Alah and Sagi. They stopped and waved to the small group. Fu dog told them everything that had happened at Gramps shop while Alah told them of her reason for arriving at New York.
Jake smiled when they finished relating their stories, "Rose would be perfect for training Alah."
"Yeah, she did fight Mr. Dark Dragon," said Trixie.
"So, where can I find Rose?" Alah asked anxiously.
"Luckily she managed to persuade her parents to move back. Follow me," Jake beckoned while changing into his dragon form, "Dragon up time!"
Alah shifted into her dragon form as Jake lifted Trixie and Spud onto his back. They stopped midway gazing at the shining golden dragon. As Alah lifted Sagi and Fu dog into her arms, they quickly returned to what they were doing before she saw them. With a little difficulty Jake launched himself into the air with Alah flying gracefully after him.
"Hey Alah," Jake called back to the golden dragon, "How about a little competition before we get there?" He pointed to a large building with a pyramid of glass on its roof, "Race ya to that building."
Alah grinned, "Ok"
Fu dog clapped a paw over his eyes, "Oh boy. This isn't going to be good."
Sagi put to his mouth, "Same here."
With a single beat of their wings Alah and Jake took off like rockets with their passengers clinging to their scales for dear life. At first Jake took the lead and looked back to see Alah falling behind. He laughed and was about to call back to her when in a flash of gold she shot past him. Stopping in midair he gazed dumbly as he watched the golden streak fly towards the building. Shacking away his shock he hurried after her, however he was unable to keep up. When he arrived to the rooftop she was already there.
Jake landed and shook his head, "Oh man I have never seen any dragon fly as fast as you."
Alah smiled and placed Fu and Sagi down. The wrinkled dog put a paw to his stomach, "You're telling me. I almost lost my dog chow there a couple times."
As Jake put Trixie and Spud down Alah looked around the city, "Where does Rose live?"
Jake shifted to his human form and pointed to another building, "Over there," he looked at his friends, "but I think we should walk."
Alan smiled and shifted to her human form as well, "Ok."
The two dragons hurried over to a stairwell with their former passengers walking woozly after them.
If there was one thing good that Rose learned from the huntsmaster it was that you always had to be prepared for the unexpected. This meant training for at least an hour or two a day. She was in the middle of one of her training sessions when she heard the doorbell ring. She stopped what she was doing and went to her living froom. When she opened the front door she was surprised to see Jack and his friends along with a girl about her age.
"Hey Jake, what's up?" Rose beamed, it always made her happy to see him."
Jake Smiled,"Yo Rose, nice to see you again."
"We saw each other this morning," Rose teased.
"Yeah, well uh," He blushed and changed the subject by dragging the new girl forward, "This is Alah, she's new here. I mean new here to the magical world, and here in New York too."
"Nice to meet you Rose." Alan said politely.
"You as well Alah, so where do you come from and I'm guessing that you're a dragon as well.''
Alah nodded " Yes, I'm a golden dragon and I home travled here from Avalon."
Rose was about to reply when she saw the dragon shaped scar on Alah's neck, "You have the huntsmarks."
Alah looked at her confused, "What do you mean?"
Rose lifted her hand which bore a similar looking birthmark, "Look familiar."
Alan narrowed her eyes, "That is the same shape as the scar the hunter's weapon gave me."
Suddenly, the forgotten Fu dog butted in, "Ok can we skip the girl gossip and get to business."
Jake looked at the two angry eyed animal guardians, " Sorry Fu, I forgot about you guys."
"Yeah well you better get your head jolted, we need Alah trained pronto if we want the dark dragon gone for good.''
"What do you mean?" Rose asked
"There's an old dragan prophecy that states that a golden dragon would born to defeat the dark dragon." Fu nudged Alah, "Alah happens to be the only golden dragon since Nagiss the wise who as alive a thousand years ago." Fu shook his head, "There's only one problem."
"I know very little about fighting," Finished Alah, "and Master Lou Shi is still training Jake."
"We need you to train her." replied Sagi
Rose nodded," Not a problem, I'll have Ahah ready to dark dragon in no time. I'm sure teaching a dragon how to fight is no different than bringing training Hunstclan recruits." Rose turned towards her stairs, "Follow me. I want to see how much Alah knows and I'll need all of you're advice about her abilities."
Fu and Sagi smiled, and the small cat said," Oh we know how much of her power she can control, but we'll watch just to make sure."
Alan winked and smiled at the two animal gaurdians. Though confused the four the other four walked up the stairs and went through a door onto the roof. Rose then led Alah out into the center.
"Ok Alah show me what you can do."
Alah Shifted into her dragon form amd opened her jaws. She released a stream of fire around her to form a ring. Then she released a stream of ice, dousing the flames and freezing the roof around her. To top it off she released a single bolt of lightning from her claws into the air above them. All but the two animals looked at her with surprise.
"Whoa, how?" Jake tried to speak.
''Yo, that was some serious freakyness girl." saidTrixy
"That's a golden for ya," smiled Fu, "not only that she is also a hatchling."
''A hatchling? As in tiny little egg hatchling?" asked Spud
Sagi nodded, "Even a golden dragom wouldn't be able to control as much power as Alah if they were born such as Jake."
''And that explains why she wasn't around five hundred years ago," finished Fu
''ok, you're going to have to explain from the top." said Rose confused
Sagi began, "A typical hatchling will hatch every ten years, but only if their mothers keep their egg properly warm with dragon fire. Once ready, the baby hatches as a dragon, instead of being human; therefore they are taught, at a young age how to use their powers."
"but then why," started Jake.
"My egg was stolen,'' replied Alan," The priests of Avalon tell me that my mother and father were attacked by hunters. They say that my mother was slain and my egg stolen and laters was found by a friar who was on a pilgramage." Alan closed her eyes, "The high priestest tells me that my father had disappeared soon after the event and she presumes that he has passed on, but something inside me says that he is still alive somewhere."
Rose looked up at the sad dragon, "If he is I promise you, we'll find him."
Alah smiled, "Thank you Rose."
"Alright kiddies now that we have Alah set for training how bout we get her started on dragon duties as well." Interrupted Fu
Trixie quickly grabbed Alah's paw, "Nuh uh Fu sista Trixie is taking this dragon shopping for some new clothes."
Alah changed to her human form and looked curiously at Trixie, "What's wrong with my robes?"
"Girl this is the twenty first century you can't just go walking 'round like you popped out of the medieval ages."
"Unless of course there's a renaissance festival goin on." noted Spud
"Shut it Spudinsky." Trixie shouted at him
"I'll have to agree with Trixie," said Rose, "You need a new look."
Fu sighed it, "All right, you guys go have fun, and I will go talk with gramps about Alah helping Juke out with dragon duty."
The five hurried towards the door and soon disappeared from sight. Sagi smiled and shook his head, "It's good to see she's making friends so quickly."
"Yeah, but what she needs is to know who her parents were. If my theory is right her old man just might be the missing gold dragon that. was supposed to be around after Nagiss."
Sagi nodded, "That is if it is true that a golden dragon can only be born if one of the parents is golden."
Fu nodded," Which would explain why hunters would even consider attacking a pair of dragons with an egg, I bet they didn't realize that that egg contained another golden dragon."
"But that still leaves the question of who the golden dragon is and if he is still around."
"And if he is, maybe it's not Alah who's burdend with having to slay the dark dragon."
"I look Silly," came Alah's voice from inside a dreasing room.
"Girl trust me I bet you look fine," Trixie called back to her, "Now come on out so we can see."
"Okay...."
The door to of the dressing room opened and revealed Alah dressed in blue jeans and green shirt with a rose on it. Alah grinned and put her hands on her hips.
Rose nodded, "I think we made a good call Trixie."
Jake smiled, "Yeah now she'll fit in perfectly."
Trixie paid a nearby cashier, "Of course she will and I bet with looks like hers she'll be one of the most popular kids in school."
"As long as she doesn't have to go to Junior High, she'll be fine." said Jake
"What is so bad about this Junior High?" Alah asked as they walked out of the store.
"Rotwood's the principal of the school. I mean I bet it's bad enough him being your human gaurdian but can you imagine being you principal as well?"
Alah tilted her head, "That depends on what a principal is. Rotwood seems kind, why would this principal thing make Junior High such a bad thing?"
"Well for one thing he is totally crazy," started Jake.
"He's always trying to expose Jake's dragon form," continued Spud.
"And the man is totally hooked on magical items," finished Trixie.
Rose stopped them," Don't listen to them Alah, Rotwood's always been nice to me."
"That's because you were always miss perfect," Jake said sticking out his tounge.
Rose retorted by sticking her tounge out as well. The group walked dow the sidewalk laughing and it was this moment that Alah knew that this is where she belonged. All her life at Avalon she had always felt alone, but now she was surrounded by friends who, though they were odd, were much like herself. They arrived at Lou-Shi's store and entered to find the two animal gaurdians playing cards with the old dragon master.
"I was beginning to wonder where you five have been," said Lou-Shi not looking up from his hand, "I have good news. Alah will begin Dragon duties tomorrow."
Jake cheered, "Alright! That means I can go skating tomorrow!"
"Not so fast young dragon," replied Lou-Shi.
"Huh?"
"You must show Alah around the area, she does not know the area and the inhabitants as well you do."
"But, But, fine..."