CHAPTER 1: A TALE FROM THE BEGINNING

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The Land Before Time XV: The Age Of The Fire Breathers

This is a story from long,long ago,back when our world was young and new,back when smoking mountains dominated the land and when earthshakes relentlessly ravaged the earth. It all stems from a legend that there were once a herd of creatures so cruel and so evil,that even the sharpteeth feared them. They were ravenous beings that scoured the land like locusts in search of valleys to conquer and devour-

"Grandpa?"

Grandpa Longneck promptly cut himself off when his grandson Littlefoot politely asked for his attention,for he and his friends Cera, Petrie, Ducky, Spike, Chomper and Ruby were being told a story by the elder longneck as they sat by a small crack in the Earth that let out steam and warm orange light. The bright circle had long since vanished behind the walls of the Great Valley and the white circle had now taken its place.

"Yes Littlefoot?" asked Grandpa Longneck in response to his grandson's question to which the little longneck continued with another question "Are you sure that they were scarier than sharpteeth?" before Petrie nervously whimpered while he huddled up closer to the gang "Me no think anything scarier than sharpteeth." only for Grandpa Longneck to shake his head in response "I'm afraid I do not know children,all my knowledge extends to what the legend says."

"So it's likely not even true?" wondered Chomper with a bit of relief in his voice only for Cera to quickly shush him resulting in Grandpa Longneck playfully chuckling "Settle down young ones,I'll continue the story." to which the young dinosaurs scooted up closer and opened their ears even more before the elder continued "These creatures would go under many names as their influence spread,but we would come to know them as…….The Fire Breathers."

The children immediately tensed up and gasped in awe after hearing such an intimidating name and images of what they could possibly look like came into their minds as Petrie nervously whimpered "With name like that,me know why they scary to sharpteeth."

"They were indeed Petrie. Although it is said that they started off as just another herd of leaf eaters,they were some of the first of our kind to walk on the land. They were gentle,kind and willing to do anything for their brethren whether they be a longneck,a threehorn,a swimmer,a flier or a spiketail."

"Well gee Grandpa,they don't sound like they were quite so bad." smiled Littlefoot as he gave out a small giggle before Ruby added more confused than anything "Then why were they feared if they were so nice Mr Longneck?"

"For a while everything was peaceful between all of our kind,but then one day everything would change for not just them,but even all of us. One day a flaming rock had suddenly come falling down from the sky,the herd tried to escape but it was too late,for the rock had quickly struck them and taken down much of the land with them. It should have been the end for them,but they somehow managed to survive and were transformed by it. Now they all had sharp scales forming on their backs,they now had mighty wings unlike any kind of flier that had ever been seen,they grew sharp claws and long teeth that outmatched the most dangerous of sharpteeth,and lastly they could now tame fire with their own breath. They could do anything and everything they ever wanted with nothing to get in their way,and it was soon to become a dark time for the entire world. One by one valleys and forests would fall in their path of conquest with no resistance,it was part of a path that would cement The Fire Breathers as rulers of all creation,and it is said that the remnants of their destruction is what we know now as The Mysterious Beyond."

"So what happened to them Grandpa? Why aren't they around anymore?" asked Littlefoot utterly awestruck at such a tale to which the elder longneck promptly explained "The Fire Breathers reign would finally come to an end when an alliance of longnecks,threehorns,clubtails and even some sharpteeth would come together to stop the Fire Breathers from taking our valley when it was a much younger place. They fought the Fire Breathers in a long and grueling battle,with the alliance coming out on top and driving the Fire Breathers underground where they still wait for another chance to come back."

Grandpa Longneck then turned his head and glanced over at one of the many large mountains that resided in the Great Valley before calmly stating "Some say that whenever the smoking mountains break open and rain down their fire,that it is actually the Fire Breathers releasing all of their built up rage and hatred in the hopes of one day returning to take back our valley. But of course it is all just a legend and should be seen as just that,there is so much we do not know about our world and the new things to discover could all be ones of wonder."

The children were all amazed yet slightly creeped out after hearing Grandpa Longneck's story as Ducky took a deep breath and glammored with relief "I'm so glad that the Fire Breathers are all in the ground now,yep yep yep." only for Cera to stick her horn up and rashly huff "You guys wouldn't actually be saying that if they came back,because I would have knocked them all back underground before you'd even blink!"

However when Cera looked back down to see what her friends reactions would be,she was underwhelmed to see that they were merely looking at her with unconvinced frowns which resulted in her slightly back tracking "Well….maybe not before you blink." to which Grandpa Longneck smiled and retorted "Well you all probably won't need to know because they are all just a legend,now why don't y'all head back to your nests and get some sleep?"

The children couldn't help but agree with the elder's idea since they could feel their eyes getting heavy along with some yawns coming up as they all proceeded to say goodbye for the day and head back to their nests to get some sleep. It was stuff like this that made living in The Great Valley worth it,even though they always had hardships to go through every now and then,Littlefoot and his friends would never even think to trade it for anything else.