Crona's head spun; her body was weak. She opened her eyes and saw nothing but fuzz. She squeezed them shut and waited for the spinning and throbbing in her body to stop, but it didn't. The white dragoness lay on the ground for some time, motionless, hoping to recover quickly. After several hours of silence she gave up on trying to fall asleep or relieve herself of the thundering pain that had taken up residence in her head. Crona forced herself onto her feet and wobbled from the vertigo. She was still in the forest but there was no sign of the wolves that had attacked her, much less any signs that a fight had gone on in the first place. Every tree and bush was untouched by battle and the sky was dimming into an early evening sunset. Crona couldn't see the towering outer wall of Warfang anymore. Instead, all she could see were vast tree-covered hills stretching into the distance.
The dragoness looked down and saw the tattered remains of her scroll harness laying limply across the ground. Her scrolls were there as well; dirty, crumpled and slightly torn from being trampled beneath the feet of the beasts that had attacked her. Crona took a step towards them and suddenly everything spun out of control. She turned her head sharply and wretched onto the ground. The last bits of food from her breakfast were all expelled onto the ground before her. Crona groaned sickeningly and nearly collapsed again. She had never felt so horrible before in her life. After taking some time to settle her stomach enough to move, she wiped her mouth and returned to her harness. The dragoness gathered her scrolls and picked up the ragged sacks in her jaws. The leather was dirty but it tasted better than the lingering vomit in her mouth.
A loud hoot in the distance brought her back to reality. Darkness would be here soon.
"I have to get moving," She groaned as she staggered off blindly into the forest. "I could be in real trouble if I stay here."
"Alright everyone, that was a very good start for today's lesson." The master dragoness commended her class of young dragons. "We will continue working on aerial maneuvers tomorrow. For now you are dismissed for the day."
The young dragons all filed out of the learning pavilion and into the corridors. A young lightning dragon walked along side a female ice dragoness of the same age. Their friends and classmates all stepped aside to give them room and smiled politely to them. Amp and Terra walked to the end of the hall, their tails intertwined lovingly with one another.
"Well, we have a few hours until it gets dark again." Terra gazed at the yellow dragon's purple eyes. "What do you want to do?"
Amp was a dragon in his early teenage years, just coming of age in his maturity and dragon training. His body was a slim build but toned with lean muscle. His deep violet underbelly and horns were an admirable contrast to his golden yellow hide. A pendant hung around his neck in the shape of a flat crown; a gift from his parents.
The lightning dragon smiled and spread his wings. "Follow me," he said, trying to act cool and casual about it. He took off into the air with Terra following close behind. The two lovers flew for several minutes in silence, just glancing over at one another giving flirty, seductive, loving grins. In the late afternoon sun, Amp was able to take in all of Terra's beauty for what it was. Her scales were light grey and her navy blue underbelly matched the color of the five horns that surrounded her head. Amp smiled and bit his lower lip when his eyes locked with her yellow-green ones. The ice dragoness smiled and blushed slightly; she knew what he was doing and her reaction had never changed over the years. The two of them knew each other better than anyone else ever would.
After about ten minutes of flying, Terra spoke. "So where are we going exactly?"
"Just exploring." Amp smiled at her, still trying to act cool.
"Oh, really?" Terra rolled her eyes playfully. "Is that all we're doing?"
Amp shrugged and put on a fake pouty face and looked down over the treetops of the vast, enchanted forest. "Well, we haven't been out here much, especially as of late." Then he narrowed his eyes at her and a big goofy grin spread across his mouth. "Especially just the two of us."
Terra narrowed her eyes at him seductively. "Oh Ampy, you draconic stallion, you. What will you think of next?" The lightning dragon's cheeks flushed at the sound of his pet name. "Do you have any idea where we're going?" Terra giggled upon seeing his reaction.
"Nope," Amp stated almost proudly. "But my exploration instincts are telling me to go where we haven't gone before." Now it was Terra's turn to blush. The ice particles that covered her body melted from heat on her cheeks. She turned away from her love and looked down at the forest rushing by underneath them.
"Hey, are you alright?" Amp asked, brushing her side with a wingtip.
"I'm heavenly, Ampy," Terra replied, shooting him a wink out of the corner of her eye.
Amp grinned excitedly and the rows of prickly quills that lined his head and back stood erect. He loved making Terra smile. He almost considered it his purpose in life. As he turned to look down at the ground again he saw a flash of white amongst the trees. The yellow dragon back-winged and turned to hover in the air.
"Amp? What's wrong?" Terra banked around to hover beside him.
"I could have sworn I saw something." Amp narrowed his eyes as he scanned the trees. He glided towards the ground in a large spiral, surveying the area thoroughly. Terra stayed on his tail, giving quick sweeps of the forest. Just as they were about ten yards from the treetops, she gave a cry.
"There!" She exclaimed and beat her wings against the wind.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Amp called and chased after her.
Terra dove down and tucked her wings into her body as they entered the tree tops. She extended her claws outward and caught the first sturdy branch available before bouncing off onto another lower one. Amp followed her lead all the way to the ground where they stood before a white dragoness laying on the forest floor.
"Whoa," Amp gasped with wide eyes. The dragoness's scales were as white as the purest snow speckled generously with grey spots. Her crests and underbelly were a deep indigo, almost black, but nowhere near as dark as her onyx-colored horns and talons. Her gold jewelry made her look almost like royalty, though lots of dragons that Amp and Terra knew wore elaborate gems and stones to show off their worth.
The dragoness groaned and cracked one eye to look up at them and struggled to lift her head and speak. But her throat was too parched from lack of water and her strength had left her long ago and she passed out at their feet.
Crona staggered on for days in a dull haze. She refused to relinquish her scroll carrier in fear of losing all she had left with her. Several times she had come across trickling creeks branching off from the Silver River but the water had been too dirty and putrid to drink. The fruits that grew from the trees were either too little to eat or too poisonous for dragons to consume. By the fourth day she was starting to wear down significantly, barely being able to pick herself off the ground to walk.
At last she couldn't move another step and slumped against a tree trunk. She looked up at the night sky and let her head lean against the tree. The stars twinkled brightly against the darkness of the forest around her. The view would have been spectacular to Crona under better circumstances, but she was too tired and lost to care. "Father," she whispered, her voice cracking for the first time in many years. "Help me." She slid off the tree trunk and laid her head on her side bags. "Someone, help me." The last sounds she remembered were her sobs before she slipped into a deep slumber.
Crona and the ape hit the ground hard, rendering both of them unconscious. The white hatchling still clung to her assailant's throat, her tiny jaws clamped tightly around its jugular. The sounds of the battle continued to rage in the distance as dragons and apes roared and hollered. Hours passed and the sounds of the fight died away almost as quickly as they had come. The night dragged on without any movement from the ape or Crona. The signs of daybreak began to appear over the horizon and the early morning sun broke through the trees.
A single beam hit the ape right in the eyes. After a few minutes the baboon curled his lip and cracked his eyes open to look around. The hatchling was still clasping his throat in a tight pinch but not enough to break his neck or inflict a fatal bite. The barbarian pulled her off and dropped her to the ground before rubbing his neck and staring at the blood that had been drawn by the little dragoness. He snarled at her and spat on her before staggering to his feet and grabbing her by the tail. The ape trudged deeper into the forest, dragging the baby behind him in one hand and his chained blade in the other. When he was certain he was far enough from anyone to bother him he set Crona down and licked his blade.
Crona twitched slightly and the ape smiled. He raised his weapon high over his head, waiting for the white hatchling to open its eyes in time to be impaled. A sudden thump and an angry roar broke the ape from his blood-crazed trance and a tail blade plunged through his chest. The baboon coughed hard and blood spattered from his open wound, nose, eyes and mouth. With a sharp yank he was pulled off his feet and stared into the furious Orange eyes of Kryos. What little blood the ape had left practically turned to water as the male dragon bared his teeth at the filthy ape. With a swish of his tail he tore the ape in half, sending its remains flying into the trees so the crows could feast on his carcass later.
Kryos wiped his tail blade on the grass, cleaning as much blood off it as he could before leaning down towards his daughter and nuzzling her slightly. Crona whimpered and cracked her eyes open. Kryos sighed and smiled to himself, thankful that at least she was alive. He took her tail in his massive jaws and gently picked her up off the ground before setting her down on his back between his shoulder blades.
"Daddy," Crona sniffled in a voice almost too quiet to hear. "It hurts." Her sniffling became louder as her father headed for the dragon's base camp. The sound of her weeping hurt Kryos' ears and pained his heart even more. "Everything hurts."
Kryos sighed sadly. "I know."
A cold damp cloth brought Crona's consciousness back. She moaned and her eyelids twitched. She felt the cool refreshment against her still throbbing head. Water trickled down her forehead and across her muzzle before puddling up under her chin. Little droplets got caught in between her lips and Crona opened her mouth to swallow them. The tiny water droplets gave her even more refreshment than the cloth against her head. Crona opened her eyes and looked around but saw nothing but white. She moaned again and started to lift her head.
"Oh, you're awake," a voice spoke and Crona froze on instinct. A second later a paw slid the cloth back farther on her head, letting the liquid residue trickle down the back of her neck. Crona shivered and looked into Terra's yellow-green eyes. "It's good to see you're finally with us." She smiled warmly. "You've been in and out of consciousness for a few days now."
"A few days?" Crona tried to exclaim but her exclamation came out as more of a wheeze than anything. She coughed hard and turned her head away.
"Here," Terra murmured. She wrapped her tail around a small basin beside the door and pulled it closer to Crona. "Drink this. You're probably still dehydrated."
Crona looked down at the clear, pure water in front of her before leaning down to lap it up. Before long she was greedily gulping down the cool liquid, every drop soothing her parched throat and wetting her mouth completely.
"Wow," Terra giggled with an amused look as Crona licked the last droplets from her snout. "And here I thought I drank a lot." Crona paused and her cheeks flushed slightly. Terra realized what she said and waved a paw apologetically. "Sorry, that was rude of me."
"N-no," Crona stammered. "If anything it was rude of me."
Terra giggled again. "Then let's just say we are both sorry in our own terms."
Crona cracked a subtle smirk. "Fair enough," she nodded considerately and began to look around the room for the first time. It was a fairly plain room, white walls, stone floor, a window on one end and a balcony on the other. The late afternoon sun shone in through the balcony and Terra found herself staring out at the sky beyond with Crona.
"It's a nice view isn't it?" Terra smiled inwardly.
"Yes, it is," Crona replied and turned back to the ice dragoness. "If you don't mind my frankness," she started. "Who are you?"
Terra's head whipped back around and her cheeks flushed. "Oh! Forgive me! Where are my manners? My name is Terra. And yours?"
"Crona," the white dragoness replied, almost as if she were trying to remember herself. "My name is Crona."
Terra smiled kindly. "Well it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Crona. You had us worried for a while."
"Us?"
"Yes, me and my family."
Crona would have smacked herself did she have the energy. "Of course she'd have family to live with," She thought to herself. "She's still too young to be out on her own." But then she recalled her own personal experiences and immediately felt ashamed of herself. "So, you live here with your family?" She continued to make small talk, hoping not to be rude.
"Yup." Terra nodded, ignoring the change of expression on Crona's face. "Me, my mom, my dad, my sister and Amp. All of us under one roof."
"Wow, that's a lot," Crona thought to herself. She had never lived with anyone other than her father and mother before so this was all new to her. "And you said you have a little sister?" Crona found this particular detail rather intriguing. Siblings were rarely heard of in the western dragon city, especially during the war when most young dragons were hunted down or slaughtered in raids by Malefor's forces.
"Yeah." Terra nodded with a slight shrug. "She's your typical sibling, but she's family."
"Ah," Crona nodded dumbly, clearly not knowing anything about having a sibling of her own. Terra seemed to notice and smiled genuinely. The sound of claws against the stone drew closer and Crona turned her head towards the curtain that covered the doorway. Terra glanced over her shoulder and rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of whom, you can come in. It's alright."
Crona cocked her head sideways curiously. A moment later a tiny head poked out from under the curtain. The little lightning dragoness was about four years old, five at the most. Her pale yellow scales blended almost perfectly with her dull beige breast scales. Her eyes were dark brown but with a subtle hint of gold in them. They stared up at Crona in wide-eyed fascination. When Crona's eyes locked with hers, the little dragoness hid behind her big sister.
"Say hi, Maya," Terra said, insisting that her little sibling mind her manners.
"H-hello," The little dragoness squeaked nervously.
"How do you do?" Crona asked, trying to sound as motherly as possible but sounding more like a drill master than anything.
Without so much as a blink, Maya ran from behind her sister and onto Crona's bed, nuzzling against her. The action surprised the white dragoness and Crona jumped in surprise.
"Maya, what have we told you about manners around strangers and guests!" Terra scolded. The little lightning dragoness sulked and buried her head into Crona's wing. "I'm sorry," Terra apologized, walking over and shoving her little sister away from Crona. "She always acts shy around others, and then when they show her the slightest bit of friendliness, she's all over them." She gave her sister a more forced shove off the pillow. "Go on Maya, I think you've made our guest feel welcome enough for one day." Maya pouted and stomped her little feet as she left the room.
Crona watched her go with a bewildered look on her face. No one had ever been so affectionate towards her except her father.
"Sorry again." Terra smirked as she sat down in front of Crona again.
"I-it's alright. Really." Crona swallowed hard trying to hide her embarrassment. She was still a little unsure of what to make of the situation. Then the sounds of beating wings came from down the hall and heavier footsteps began to approach.
"Oh! It sounds like everyone's coming back." Terra turned and moved the curtain with a wing. "Hi dad!" She called.
"Hello Terra," A deep firm voice replied from down the hall. "How is our guest doing? Any better?"
"Yup!" Terra chirped. "She's finally woken up!" Terra moved away from the curtain as a large ice dragon ducked beneath it, letting the drapery flow off his proud muscular body. Behind him a lightning dragoness poked her head in and gave a motherly smile.
"Oh good, you're awake. I'll bring you something to eat, you poor dear." She ducked back into the hall giving Amp the room he needed to squeeze into the room and stand beside Terra. Maya followed him and sidled up next to him, giving her big sister a pouty look. Terra only grimaced at her and Maya stuck her tongue out.
Terra's father Nitrus looked Crona over again, now that she was awake. "How do you feel, young lady?" He asked, trying to sound gentle but succeeding as much as Crona did in trying to be motherly towards Maya.
"I'm well, thank you." Crona struggled to get to her feet but her strength had not quite returned yet.
"You can refrain from the formalities my dear." Nitrus chuckled, seeing her attempt fail. "When you're here, you're family."
"Uh, thank you," Crona almost squeaked as she sank back into the cushion. Terra's mother returned and Nitrus stepped out of her way as she was carrying a wooden tray of sliced fruits assorted in a neat and orderly fashion. She set the tray down in front of Crona, who sniffed at the sweet-scented fruits with great interest before taking a large slice of melon in her jaws. Terra's mother watched with a pleased smile on her face as Crona swallowed mouthful after mouthful of sliced fruit before gobbling up the berries around the rim of the tray. When she was done, Crona felt a hundred times better than she had in days.
"My goodness, you must have been starving," Terra's mother gasped almost in shock. Crona immediately felt her cheeks flush. She hadn't intended to appear as being greedy but this was the first food she had eaten in days.
"S-sorry," Crona stammered. "I should have offered you all some too."
"Oh piffle!" Terra's mom chuckled. "No need to apologize. A young dragoness like you needs to eat. You're reaching that age where you need to be at your most fit."
"Anyways!" Terra interrupted, stepping in before her mom could start the talk with Crona that she had with her so many times before. "Dad, Mom, this is Crona," Terra introduced taking a stand next to Amp and shoving her sister out of the way playfully. Maya whined and goose-stepped to Amp's opposite side and glared at her big sister.
Nitrus bowed deeply, something Crona had never seen any dragon do before her and to her so formally. "It is an honor to have you here Crona. I'm sure you've been introduced to my daughters Terra and Maya. And this is my life mate Thundra."
Thundra bowed just as deeply. "Charmed I'm sure, my dear."
"Uh, yeah." Crona's mouth hung open dumbly. No dragon, let alone family had ever been this welcoming of her before. The only exception had been Ignitus all those years before.
"And this strapping young lad is Ampus." Nitrus turned and looked down at Amp who blushed at the sound of his full name being used. "And I am ice guardian Nitrus. Young Amp here is training to become the next guardian of lightning."
Ice guardian? Lightning guardian? Crona's eyes crossed in confusion. The only guardian of ice she knew was Master Cyril who resided in the dragon city of Warfang. "I thought Stella was going to be the next lightning guardian," Crona pondered aloud, unaware that she was speaking openly. She remembered the name and face of the lightning dragoness from her studies with the western city elders but had never taken the time to get to know her closely.
"Stella? Who's that?" Terra asked curiously looking from Crona to Amp. Crona's head snapped up to see everyone watching her with curious eyes.
"Oh, uh," her face was turning a deep shade of crimson and her heart was racing. "N-nothing. I was just thinking out loud. Don't mind me." She chuckled nervously, hoping they'd buy her act.
"Well Crona," Nitrus started, breaking the awkwardness of the situation, much to Crona's relief. "You are more than welcome to stay here as long as it takes you to recover."
"Th-thank you." Crona nodded again, still struggling to regain her composure.
"Do you have any family we can send word to that you are alright?" Thundra asked.
"I..." Crona's voice trailed off. She was supposed to let her father know when she had reached Warfang. No doubt he was already worried about her and in a desperate panic trying to find her. "I should let my father know where I am," Crona muttered darkly. She was already feeling bad about taking this personal vacation; how selfish of her to leave her father to worry.
"Alright then. We will send word to Avalar to recruit a cheetah carrier falcon to send word to your father." Thundra nodded understandingly, relieved that the young dragoness had relatives she could turn to. "But in the meantime I think you should get some rest and we will deal with this in the morning. You can share the room with Terra until you feel comfortable sleeping elsewhere."
"Sorry Ampy." Terra shrugged and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The lightning dragon looked a little hurt but felt it was an acceptable sacrifice for someone else in greater need.
"It's okay Ampy!" Maya chirped excitedly. "You can stay with me in my room!"
"Sorry," Terra snickered and gave her love a playful elbow. Amp only chuckled slightly and followed Maya to her room where she would no doubt be up all night trying to talk to him.
The night sky was a deep blue against the darkness of the mountains. A black dragon raced through the forest as fast as his legs could carry him. The forest was far too dense for him to fly safely, restricting his method of travel to the ground. The cold wind rushed against his glossy black scales but his whole body was numb. The only thing he could feel was his burning, aching lungs and the throbbing of his heart in his chest. All around, branches and twigs stung his hide as he rushed through the dense underbrush. The dragon closed his eyes as he barreled through a thick thorn bush, paying no attention to the long needles that scratched his tough scales.
His heavy breathing was the only thing he could hear until a shriek cut through the air. The black dragon stopped and turned around. "Sis!" He cried. Another scream and an excited whoop followed; then silence. The black dragon was shaking like the leaves in the trees above. He squeezed his eyes shut as tears rolled down his cheeks. "No," he thought to himself. "I... I can..." The sudden sounds of objects moving swiftly through the trees interrupted his thoughts. The black dragon turned and ran as three apes dropped from the overhanging branches. The baboons missed but took chase anyways. Several more joined in the pursuit, whooping and hollering at the tops of their lungs in eager, bloodthirsty delight.
On the ground, young dragons were fast but fully grown apes like these were much faster with their stronger arms to propel them along through the tree branches.
One of the larger apes quickly caught up to the black dragon and grabbed the bone blade slung over his shoulder. He swung onto another branch before making a dive towards the black dragon. The ape laughed and wrapped his claws around the dragon's throat. The dragon snarled and flailed, trying to shake the heavy beast off of him. The ape only scoffed at the dragon's attempts and brought its bone up to slit the dragon's throat open. At the last second the black dragon squirmed away and bit the ape in the face. The ape pulled his blade back and squalled in pain as the skin from his snout was torn away. The blade cut deep into the dragon's chest scales, exposing him almost to the bone. The black dragon screamed in pain but hit the ground running.
The other apes hooted furiously as they continued the chase. Their prey was already wearing down and his stamina had been significantly reduced from the mortal blow from the ape's weapon.
The baboons chased the wounded dragon until he came to a halt at the edge of a cliff. Down below was a roaring waterfall that led from the mountains and would eventually flow into the silver river. The apes leaped from the darkness of the tree branches and formed up around the black dragon, pushing him towards the cliff edge more. The dragon stood gasping for breath, making hesitant glances over his shoulder then back to the apes. The filthy barbarians sneered as the dragon prepared to make his last stand.
A loud roar echoed through the mountains and sounded like a shriek with a crack of lightning. The three nearest apes were hit with the sonic blast and sent flying back into the splintering trees. Another ape moved in to attack and was given another blast of wind. The dragon's attack cut into the ape's flesh, tearing his skin from his bones before sending the bloody rag doll into the forest where it lay still.
The black dragon turned as another of the larger apes lunged for him. The baboon swung its dagger and the black dragon ducked. The dodge was not fast enough and a large gash opened up across the dragon's forehead. The ape smirked seeing the dragon's blood spatter across the ground; he was so thrilled he neglected to notice the falling dragon's bladed tail coming around from the side. The spiked tail blade plunged into the ape's jugular. The creature staggered back as his own blood gushed from his neck and onto his fur. More of his comrades pushed past him, howling furiously and clawing at the black dragon, still on the ground. The apes grabbed, tore and stabbed at him with everything they had. The dragon snarled, bit and clawed furiously trying to get away from the daggers, claws and jaws inflicting serious wounds on him. With one last desperate roar he blasted the apes with a sonic gust of wind. The bodies went flying everywhere, some into the tress, across the open ground and several off the cliff edge.
The young dragon gasped for breath, severely winded after such a harsh attack. His wounds were covered in dirt and fur and his blood spilled across the ground. With a loud groan he collapsed on his hindquarters, clutching at a stab wound in his gut with a bloody paw.
More apes were beginning to show up and surround him once again. There was no way he would survive another onslaught like the previous one. The black dragon forced himself to rise and face his foes through his only good eye; the other had a deep slash through it, forcing him to keep his eye shut. Blood dripped from his mouth and nose and he sucked in a deep breath, ready to unleash another blast of wind.
Just as he was expecting an attack, the apes began to recede into the shadows of the trees and a single figure stepped forward. The black dragon exhaled in shock and surprise, then grit his teeth furiously. The red-eyed figure smiled and waved a paw at the black dragon as if saying goodbye.
The black dragon gave an enraged roar. He ignored the burning and throbbing of his body and flung himself at the figure. A thunderous roar echoed through the mountains and the black dragon screamed. The sonic air blast hit him full force and sent him flying back over the cliff edge. The figure smiled and disappeared into the darkness of the forest as the black dragon's screams died away, drowned out by the roar of the waterfall.