"Dragons were the most majestic, magnificent creatures that ever lived in this realm," Ms. Aria began. "Sadly, during the Fourth Wave, the three Primordial Dragons - Palashien, Scintilla, and Za'Hadeen - were corrupted by Q'bthulu after a long battle, and as such, the dragons fell and became slaves to the Shadows." Ms. Aria was talking about the great war between Dragons and Trovians. It was currently History Class, and in only 10 minutes, Ari, who was 15 years old, would be able to get out of the hellhole known as school and go home!
"Q'bthulu sent his newfound army to kill us all." Ms. Aria droned on in her monotone, expressionless voice. "However, the ancestors of our ancestors defeated and killed the dragons, saving us all. And now, we continue to live happily ever after." The school bell rang. Every student quickly got up and walked out the classroom door, grateful to finally get out of Ms. Aria's class and go home for the weekend. History was one of the most hated subjects in school because of how boring Ms. Aria made it.
Ari started the long walk back to his house - he didn't have a mount because his dad couldn't afford one for him. It always made him jealous to see other kids zooming past on their fancy F.4.S.T. Rockets or riding on their exotic Corgis and Meownts. As he walked on the dirt path back to his house, he wondered what it would be like to have a dragon - soaring through the sky and shooting fireballs just like how Ms. Aria described it. However, his fantasy was interrupted as something pinned him to the ground from behind. "Oh, if it isn't broke Ari," a deep voice boomed from behind. It was Cyndiscret - the school bully. Cyndiscret was already 6 feet tall, and he was known for picking on kids who were smaller than him. "Ruffs, get off him," he commanded, and whatever was pinning Ari down released him. "Now get up," Cyndiscret said, and kicked Ari hard. Ari gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, and he rolled over from pain. He saw that Cyndiscret had some kind of battle wolf with him, presumably Ruffs. He slowly struggled to his feet as Cyndiscret chuckled. The bully extended his gargantuan hand and picked up Ari by the collar of his shirt as if he weighed no more than a feather. "Now I'm sure Ruffs would like some Trovian as a snack-" However, he couldn't finish the sentence because his hair was being burned off by green acid!
"How many times do I have to tell you to pick on someone your own size?" Cami the Dracolyte yelled. Cyndiscret screamed from pain and surprise, causing him to drop Ari and roll around on the ground. Cami used her inherent dragon magic to make the acid disappear, but the damage had been done. Cyndiscret was nearly bald now! He scrambled onto Ruffs and beat a hasty retreat. Cami extended her hand to Ari and helped him up. "T-thank you," he said. "No problem! Just make sure to watch yourself from now on," Cami replied. "Hey, do you need a ride back?" "Sure!" Ari replied. "Alright, hop on." Cami got on her magic carpet and Ari followed suit, and they flew off to Ari's house. Ari was glad that Cami was his best friend, even though she was 2 years older than him. Cami had silver hair, green eyes, and very fair skin, and the reason why she harnessed acid instead of fire like most dracolytes is because Thallasion, Shaper of the Currents, was actually one of her ancestors, who sadly became corrupted by the shadows in the 4th wave and was annihilated by the Trovians. Cami was a little taller than Ari, and was already becoming one of the most prodigious dracolytes in the small town they lived in. (Trovians chose their class at the age of 16)
After a few minutes of flying (which would have been hours had Ari walked), the two arrived at Ari's house, which was surrounded by a forest on three sides, forming a peninsula of sorts. He and Cami said goodbye, and Ari went into his house. His father Roland, who made a living as a Shadow Hunter, was already cooking dinner. Ari was about to go to his room when his father said, "Ari, be down in 15 minutes for dinner. There's something we must discuss." All Ari said was, "OK," and he went to his room.
After playing games on his magic tapestry for 10 minutes, Ari heard his dad yell that it's time for dinner. Ari went to the kitchen, sat down, and quickly scarfed down his dinner so that he could go play tapestry games. However, as soon as Ari got up, Roland said, "Ari, stay. I need to tell you something." Ari sat back down. "You see," Roland began, "I've been thinking. You need to get ready to choose your Trovian talent, so I'm going to send you to a private school in the Forbidden Spires. You leave tomorrow at noon." Ari was shocked. There was NO way he was going to leave his town and his only friend! "Dad, please don't send me!" Ari and Roland argued for a few minutes, but there was no point. Ari couldn't change his dad's mind. He stormed to his room, mad at not only having to leave his home but also that his dad didn't tell him until the night before. He climbed into bed and cried himself to sleep.
That night, Ari had a strange dream. He dreamed that he was walking in the forest outside his house with Cami, when she suddenly withered away to a skeleton! He immediately woke up sweating, when a female voice he had never heard before said from nowhere, Ari. I can save you from being forced to leave your home. It was as if whoever was talking was speaking directly into his head. W-what? Ari thought to himself. A voice coming out from nowhere? He must be going crazy! Don't worry. You're not going crazy. I don't mean to hurt you. Ari concluded that whoever was speaking to him was doing so telepathically. "Alright. What do you want me to do?" Go to the forest outside your house, then walk in the direction of the moon. You will eventually come across a cave opening. As if in a trance, Ari obeyed the voice. He exited his house and followed the directions given to him. The moon was full, faintly illuminating his surroundings. As he went deeper in the forest, he felt at peace, and all sounds gradually began to fade away. Even his footsteps became muffled. The smell of the fresh night air was so relaxing and serene, and a gentle, cold breeze blew against him.
Eventually, Ari reached a cave entrance. It was pitch black inside. As soon as he noticed that, he snapped out of his trance. What if it's a trap? he thought to himself. Do not worry. I will not hurt you. As soon as the voice thoughtspoke to him, he was thrown back into the trance, and began to walk into the cave. He wasn't even worried about tripping and falling - it was as if some unseen hand was guiding his footsteps. Eventually, he could make out glowing blue crystals in the distance, illuminating the cave. The cave itself was narrow - only wide enough for two people. The lighting was a little eerie, but Ari continued through. The cave path was twisting and turning, but eventually it opened into a emmassive opening. It was so big that Ari couldn't even see the top of the cave. There were huge blue crystals jutting from the floor, and they formed a makeshift fence that created a path that led straight to the middle of the room. Ari followed it, and the path ended at a lake of water. The water itself was transparent, and there were more blue crystals jutting from the bottom of the lake. Ari took in more of his surroundings, and saw that there were two statues of a dragon head on his left and right side.
Ari realized that he was in a dragon shrine and got scared, remembering what Ms. Aria said about the dragons being corrupted by shadows. Do not be afraid. I'm here to help you. Ari spoke, out loud, "Who-who are you?" I am known as Azorian the Blue - one of the Ancestral Dragons. Ari suddenly had a vision - in the vision, he saw the great shadow army of the 4th wave slaughtering everything in their path. He saw numerous dragons fighting the shadows, and at first they were winning, but then Q'bthulu arrived. Every dragon he touched became corrupted - even the Primordial Dragons! Only one dragon was able to escape - a blue dragon that dodged every single one of Q'bthulu's attacks. That was me. I was the only one that escaped. The vision faded to black, and then to another vision. It showed Azorian fighting off some of the corrupted dragons - he recognized them as Yzzuli of the Honeybreeze, Flakbeard the Relentless, and Olukoi, the Moonlit Muse. Azorian's attempts proved futile, though, as more corrupted dragons arrived and mortally wounded her. However, as one of them delivered the finishing blow, Azorian disappeared into a blue flash. The vision ended there, and Ari was brought back to the real world. I am now just a dragon spirit without a body. For eons, I have searched for a worthy Trovian to restore me to my former glory, and now I have finally found one - you.
Ari knew for a fact that he wasn't a worthy Trovian. He was being beaten down every day by Cyndiscret and had to rely on Cami to save him! "I'm sorry, Azorian. I think you got the wrong person. I'm just gonna leave now." Ari turned around and sprinted back to the cave tunnel - only to find that it was gone! You can't leave, Ari. You aren't even on Trove anymore - you're in my own spirit world now. Ari, knowing that he had no other choice other than to comply, said, "Alright. What do you want me to do?"