Dragons
The Nine Realms
Prologue
Queen Avalon was lounging in her throne one sunny afternoon. The sun was streaming into the small forest glade she had grown inside her throne room. Her throne was carved into the trunk of a giant golden apple tree, in the shape of a peacock's tail, and decorated with gems. In the middle of the forest glade, at the base of the golden apple tree was a vast lake. Avalon had enchanted it with her magic to show her what was going on in the human world.
Avalon had ruled over her land of Draconia for 1300 years, but for the dragons and their humans it felt like it had been only 13 years thanks to their immortality. They'd watched the human world progress since the days of the Vikings. The humans had all but forgotten that dragons had once existed. Dragons only existed in art and stories. Avalon and her subjects had watched the human world progress; watched them build new inventions, develop cities, fight wars, explore and discover new lands.
Avalon got off her throne and went over to the massive window at the back of her throne room. It looked out over the massive lagoon in the shadow over mountain castle. The rest of her family were out there fishing and indulging in their respective interests.
Her brother Apollo had become interested in weather. He had build a weather lab in the hills around the lagoon and made weather instruments that he could strap to his back and fly them into storms. He had adapted himself to fly through a big violent hurricane, and a howling blizzard. He was the only dragon brave enough to do so.
King Eider, Avalon's soulmate, had become interested in ocean life. He often explored the waters within Draconian boarders. He monitored the migration routs of whales and sharks. The sea dragons were always happy to show him their world, and had helped him build an under water observatory.
Apollo's soulmate, Black Widow had become interested in snakes and spiders. She had several specimens in her chamber in the castle. Avalon only allowed her to keep them as long as they were in tanks and cages, so they didn't risk damaging the Draconian ecosystem. Black Widow was quite fond of her collection, especially the three female black widow spiders she kept near her bed. She sometimes even let them crawl on her scales since she was immune to their venom.
Black Widow's younger sister had inherited their father, Tenor's, massive telescope. She had also become interested in the moon and stars. Every night she looked through it at the moon, other planets, stars, and even the sun. She was always calculating when the next solar eclipse would pass over their location. She had hatched during an eclipse, and there'd been several more in the 1300 years the dragons had been in hiding. Whenever one was about to occur Eclipse hosted a birthday party on the sea cliffs.
Edelweiss was the only human in the group. She'd been born half dragon, and thus lived as long as they did. Her interest was human transport. She'd taught herself to operated everything from boats to all types of aircraft and all types of land vehicles. She had acquired a massive super yacht, called the Super Dragon, that housed her two helicopters, large mobile home, motorcycles, sport car, and even a flying car. She often sailed the yacht to places around the world that humans rarely went, such as the Amazon Rain Forest, Arctic and Antarctic, Australian wilderness, jungles of India, and uninhabited islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Avalon watched them fly around the lagoon. Edelweiss was flying an ultralight aircraft she'd built herself. Avalon was about to open the window and join them, when she was hit with a vision. Images flashed before her eyes; a comet, a massive fissure that went far into the Earth's crust farther then she could see, humans flocking to explore it, and a hidden cave of dragons exposed to the humans. Avalon felt anxious. She shook herself free of the vision, opened the big window, and flew out over the lagoon. She flew up to her friends.
"Guys, we need to talk!" She called to them. They all paused.
"What's up sis?" Apollo asked.
"I've had a vision, and it's a pretty big one," Avalon said. "You should come inside."
"But you've been inside all morning," Eider said.
"This is serious," Avalon said. "Please come inside."
"All right," said Apollo. Avalon turned around and headed back to the throne room. Edelweiss had to land her ultralight in the front yard of the castle.
Once they were all assembled around the lake in the throne room. Avalon stirred the water with her tail.
"Waters of Avalon, show them my vision," she said. The water rippled then showed the images Avalon had seen. It showed the comet, the deep fissure, the humans, and the cave of dragons. "I fear our world has been exposed to the humans. It could mean trouble." Avalon said when the water returned to normal.
"But the humans don't believe in dragons anymore," Black Widow said.
"They can still discover us," said Avalon.
"Maybe the humans won't hurt them," said Apollo. "What else can you see?" Avalon closed her eyes and let the vision continue.
"I can't see the humans very clearly since I've never met them, but I can see that four of them are children," she said. "But there's one that's clearer then the others. A boy, can't see his name, but there's something familiar about him." She opened her eyes again and the vision cleared. "We might have to go there, but I don't want to risk exposure to the wrong humans."
"We could send Edel in first," Eider suggested. "She's human enough." Edelweiss frowned.
"You mean go back to the human world?" She said. "I always try to avoid going back to the humans. I just watch it on the tv and computers."
"It's a good idea Edel," said Avalon. "There's dragons in that fissure. They might need your help if the humans discover their lair."
"Why not just close the fissure," said Edelweiss. "Then the humans won't find them at all."
"The humans want to explore and discover," said Avalon. "I don't want to deny them that. I just don't want any dragons getting captured or hurt. Edel can go there camp near the humans, learn about them, and see what they end up doing with the dragons. We'll come along a bit later, in case the dragons attack the humans."
"Do we know any dragons in that fissure?" Eclipse asked. Avalon looked again.
"No don't think so," she said. "But it seems one of them is a young Night Light."
"Really?" Black Widow asked. "But we know where all the Night Lights live and they don't live in the fissure."
"Perhaps one got lost," said Apollo. Avalon looked over at Edelweiss.
"Will you go check out this fissure for us Edel?" She asked.
"Can I take one dragon with me?" Edelweiss asked. "I don't know if I can get my helicopter down there."
"You'll be able to," said Avalon. "You're going in under cover, and we can't trust the humans with our secret yet. We'll give you any supplies you need, and even send some magic with you too." Edelweiss sighed.
"All right," she said. "As long as these humans aren't military."
"No, they don't seem like military," said Avalon. "Since they're bringing children. And as I've seen on the tv, human military don't care much about children not even their own when they're on missions. These humans will have security guards I imagine, but no soldiers."
"Okay, then I'll just bring a hunting rifle for food and defense," Edelweiss said.
"And please remember to maintain the peace with these humans and not provoke them into a fight," said Avalon.
"Yes ma'am," said Edelweiss.
"Maybe you'll make some new friends there," said Eclipse. "Wether human or dragon." Edelweiss just shrugged. "I'll watch the sky for that comet."
"Good," said Avalon. "I just hope things don't turn bad." With that she dismissed the group.
