The Present Day, in the city of Faeshrine…
Two young dragons stood back to back in the center of a large chamber. They were in the lower section of the training arena in Faeshrine Academy. The massive chamber was crafted out of the finest red stone. Various pillars and beams were spread about the far walls to hold the massive glass roof aloft. Many statues, carved into the shapes of dragons, stood beside the pillars and seemed to hold them aloft with only their forepaws. Truly, it was but one of very many chambers that reflected the marvel and splendor of Faeshrine Academy.
One of the two students, a dragoness, sighed as she mentally prepared herself for a fight. She fanned out her wings and took an easy breath. She did her best to stay calm and collected, even as her white scales were exposed to the elements.
The dragoness was short in stature, and her build was slender. She stretched her muscular limbs, toned from years of past training in the arena. She had for horns, all a dark grey in color. Two of the horns curled backward atop her head, and the other two grew like tucks upon her neck. Her eyes were as red as blood, just like her father's. And on each of her sides, just between her forelegs and hind legs, sat glowing red glyphs. Each glyph resembled two möbius signs crossed over each other; the birthmark of the shadow dragon royal family. A dark, almost black mane fell down her neck raggedly; she didn't care for brushing it when she didn't have to.
As the dragoness psyched herself up for combat, she heard someone appear on a balcony up above. She and her friend looked up to see a purple dragon appear. He brushed golden mane hairs behind his head as he gazed down at the students with a serious expression.
"This final exercise shall be conducted to test out the best of each of your individual talents," He said loud and clear. "Flame, you'll try your hardest to use that signature ability that belongs to your family to deal with oncoming opponents."
"Yes, sir." The boy nodded his head. His name was Flamaedelus-Anthony the second… though his nickname to many was Flame Jr. He was roughly a year younger than Tyrrany. His vibrant red hide glistened like a blaze in the sunlight. His wing membranes and diagonal horns were the same shade of yellow. He adjusted his brown goggles over his eyes, and his orange mane was tied back in a ponytail to stay out of his eyes.
"Now, as for YOU, my dear…" The purple dragon locked eyes with the dragoness. "You're to unleash the mightiest magical ability at your disposal. No holding back: give it everything you've got."
"Wouldn't that include using my music?" The dragoness asked.
"Hmph." The purple drake scratched his beard. "I don't know about you, my dear, but I'd rather not risk smashing my beloved instrument to pieces. We'll save your bardic talents for another time. Understood?"
"Yes, father…" The dragoness said with a stoic expression.
"Very good…" The purple dragon grinned. "Make me proud, Tyrrany."
Tyrrany nodded and got into her fighting stance.
Four years. For long hears. That's how long it had been since Tyrrany learned that the dragoness known as Elenar was alive and well.
For as long as the white dragoness could remember before that night, she'd known little of her mother. What she did know, however, was that Elenar was a shadow dragoness who abandoned Tyrrany's father when she was an egg. And for four years now, Bergan had taught his daughter everything there was to know about the history of the dragon race, and how the Twilight War left the world divided.
Elenar was royalty, that much was certain. Why else would Tyrrany have her birthmarks? And that meant that Tyrrany was denied her right to be recognized as a princess. Instead, Tyrrany had grown up as the firstborn child of Bergan, the president of the Faeshrine Trading Company. The FTC was the most powerful trading organization in the dragon realms. Thus, one of Tyrrany's longest, and only, friends was Flame Jr, since he was the son of another founder of the organization. The two had trained together in the arena since they were younglings. And here they were, about to engage in the final challenge to see if they were ready.
"If the both of you are finished preparing…" The purple dragon chuckled. "You may… begin!"
Bergan waved a forepaw in the air. As soon as he did this, several dozen wood-and-metal training dummies appeared out of the floor. They resembled apes in shape and mannerisms, as they smashed their weapons against their shields and snarled angrily.
Immediately, Tyrrany and Flame leaped forwards to engage the dummies in battle: Flame fought on the eastern side of the arena, while Tyrrany was on the west.
Flame handled his batch of dummies fairly well. He continuously jumped left and right, dodging their axes and clubs with little to no fault. At one point, he spun around a trio of dummies and slashed at their necks with his talons. As those dummies fell to the ground screaming, they exploded into piles of red and green Gems, which Flame collected happily.
After this, several more dummies charged at him from either side of him. So, with his magic fully charged, Flame inhaled as deep as he could, and unleashed his magic in the form a burst of fire. But it didn't spread wildly as so many blazes often did; instead, the magical fire spiraled around itself to form an almost-perfect sphere of flames before his maw, connected via a small strand. The teenager then spun in a circle, "dragging" the sphere of fire with him off to the side. The sphere of flames spun in a wide arc around Flame's body, colliding with several dummies in a row and sending them flying backward. They crashed into the ground as they burst into flames on impact. They then flailed about and screamed in an almost-unnervingly realistic way.
"Uh, is that attention to detail really necessary, Sir?" Flame asked.
"It's how real-life apes would react, Mr. Flame." Bergan chuckled. "So I'd say it's very much necessary to remind you what the real world is like."
"Uh… okay." The young dragon grimaced. Once the dummies exploded into piles of gems, Flame rushed forward to collect the spoils.
Bergan had a passing interest in Flame's progress, to be sure. However, he was especially interested in seeing how Tyrrany did. After all, she wasn't like most dragons; her power didn't stop at only a single element.
As the dummies surrounded the dragoness at the start of the battle, she filled her wings with a burst of wind. This gave her heightened speed, which she used to dart around most of the enemies. After evading most of their axes and clubs, Tyrrany singled out one dummy in particular near the back of the group and lunged at him. As she charged forward, the dragoness filled her body with earth magic, giving her incredible strength and momentum. Tyrrany burst straight through the dummy, leaving a large hole in its torso. It howled in pain before falling forward and exploding into a burst of gems. But Tyrrany didn't stop to collect them; instead, she continued to dash around weight her boosted speed to smash through another dummy. Again and again, she burst through each dummy with the speed and power of a runaway carriage, and she didn't even stop when the very last dummy was left in pieces.
With another wave of Bergan's forepaw, more dummies appeared from the floor to replace the old ones, and they descended upon Tyrrany with ferocity. The dragoness made to try the same tactic at first, but when she tried to collide with the first dummy, she was immediately repelled by a glowing green aura. She collapsed onto the floor and panted, while Bergan wracked his talons on the railing up above.
"Don't just stick to one method over and over." He scolded. "Mix it up. Show me a variety."
"Yes, Father…" Tyrrany sighed. She tuck-and-rolled out of the way of an axe swing and got onto all fours. She inhaled deeply and called upon a different element. The dragoness then tilted her head to the left and opened her maw as she moved her head to the right. From her maw came a burst of electricity, which arced through the air and struck several dummies in the chest. The dummies howled and shook wildly as the lightning destroyed them from the inside out. And as Tyrrany swung her head, she sent the dummies crashing into the walls and floor around her. A few of them even smashed into other dummies, and they all exploded into gems as a result.
But even as these dummies were destroyed, Bergan summoned forth even more. Tyrrany soon found herself surrounded on all sides, and the dummies all attacked at once even as they were forming. But Tyrrany wasn't worried; instead, she stood in place and waited for the right moment…
Once the dummies had gotten too close for comfort, the whole world suddenly turned blood in color. Sounds became distorted, and the dummies slowed to an almost stop. Tyrrany rose up tall as she concentrated on keeping her Time element going. She then ran forward and inhaled once again to unleash bursts of magical fire from her tongue. Tyrrany ran all around the arena, setting each and every enemy on fire. And once time returned to normal, the air was filled with a chorus of wails. Tyrrany slowed to a stop and waited as the dummies collapsed into ashes and scrap metal before exploding into gem clusters.
But as the dragoness tried to gather up gems from the fallen dummies, they were replaced by even more. With a sigh, Tyrrany sucked in a gulp of air and unleashed a torrent of icy mist from her maw. Many of the dummies were frozen in place before they even finished rising from the floor. The dragoness took this opportunity to smash through their bodies and send pieces of them flying all over the floor. Shattered pieces of wood and metal covered the floor yet again. Tyrrany came to a stop and panted heavily as red and green gems fell her way.
"Excellent work." Bergan said with a satisfied grin. "Now, let's move on to something more challenging."
Tyrrany sighed in exasperation; just how many waves did she have to endure to prove she was worthy? Rather than complain out loud, the dragoness forced herself back into a fighting stance as her father waved a forepaw through the air yet again. All the remains of the dummies vanished into the floor. The air was quiet for a moment… and then everything shook violently. Tyrrany flinched as a large, stone-covered hand rose from the ground and grasped the floor. She backed out of the way as a enormous golem erupted into existence before her eyes.
"Now, both of you! Show me what you can do!" Bergan exclaimed.
Thanks, Dad. Tyrrany groaned internally.
The golem's first move was to smash both Tyrrany and Flame with its fists. The red dragon leaped out of the way just in time, and the golem left a boulder-sized crater in the floor. But when the golem tried to smash Tyrrany, she stayed in place…. And was flattened beneath the golem's fist.
Or so it seemed.
A moment later, a pool of black mist formed out of the golem's shadow. White forepaws rose from the shadows, and the dragoness launched herself into the air with extended wings. Tyrrany held a determined expression as she flew high above the golem's head. She flew just outside of the golem's field of view, until she unleashed an attack between its fiery eyes. Her talons, coated in an aura of purple mist, dug deep into the rocky flesh of the golem. The golem growled and reached up to grab at Tyrrany, but it was distracted by a bust of fire from Flame's maw on its leg.
While the golem shrieked and swung its fists at Flame, he dodged out of the way several times. Meanwhile, Tyrrany unleashed a torrent of green magic from her body, through her talons, and deep into the golem's flesh. Mottled chunks of the golem's stone face began to turn a sickly green, and cracks formed along the surface. It wailed in pain as poison spread quickly through its veins.
The golem shook violently as it writhed in pain. While it was distracted, Tyrrany pulled her talons free and immediately drove them into the golem's eyes. With a burst of earth magic, they were cracked open like eggs. Meanwhile, Flame delivered some more busts of fire upon the creature's legs. The golem's howls grew louder as it struggled to put itself out and snatch Tyrrany off of its face at the same time. But Tyrrany didn't give it the chance; she drove her talons deeper and deeper into the golem. With another charge of her magic, she created an earth bomb within the golem's head. She then let go and flew into the air to get away.
"Flame, look out!" She cried.
The red drake gasped and trotted out of the way before the earth bomb exploded. Chunks of the golem's head were scattered allover the floor. Tyrrany flew out of the way as the remains of the golem flailed madly about, scattering fire everywhere. But before long, the golem's body collapsed onto the floor, sending a small earthquake all throughout the arena. Tyrrany glided down to the floor beside Flame and panted heavily. She was nearly knocked down again as the golem's body exploded into a flood of gems, but then she absorbed some of them and her stamina was restored.
"We did it!" Flame declared. "Good job, Annie!"
Tyrrany didn't respond; she just panted heavily to calm herself down. She could still feel adrenaline coursing through her.
Finally… She sighed. Maybe now Dad is satisfied with-
"And now, we move on the final part of the exercise!" Bergan declared.
Tyrrany scowled. There was MORE?
"Here is where you'll either triumph or fail." The purple drake continued. "There's no in-between like last time, my dear. Don't disappoint me."
Tyrrany tensed up; failure wasn't an option for her. Not anymore.
The purple dragon waved his forepaw through the air one last time. All at once, the arena floor disappeared. Tyrrany and Flame yelped as they fell down into a massive chasm for a moment, before fanning their wings to slow their descent. All of the gems fell into the chasm… and bounced off the glaring eyes of several golems.
Tyrrany scowled as she struggled to fly upward. Flame was just behind the white dragoness as the golems' eyes rose upward; they were all standing on an ascending platform. Tyrrany flew around the perimeter of the arena and watched as the golems snarled at her; there were four in all, and none to pleasant. There was just enough space between the four golems for the two dragons to land.
"Now's the time, my dear." Bergan declared. "Show me the power at your disposal!"
Tyrrany sighed as she came to a landing at the center of the platform. Flame came to a landing just beside her, though was careful to keep his distance. The golems snarled down at the dragoness, but did nothing to signal an attack.
Tyrrany shut her eyes and reached within herself. She could feel the multitude of elements within her being clashing violently. Fire, Ice, Lightning and Earth… Wind, Poison, Shadow and Fear… they all fought for dominance within her core. But Tyrrany commanded these elements to quell themselves and fall into line. The eight elements linked together in a circle, and spun about themselves in a harmonious dance. The magic surrounded Tyrrany's core, and then expanded to appear on her scales…
Flame stepped out of the way as a bright, purple aura surrounded Tyrrany's body. She flapped her wings and lifted herself up into the air to be at the center of the four golems.
As the dragoness charged up her magic, Bergan heard several people walk through the doorway behind him. The group consisted of a fire dragon, a female cheetah, a few dragonflies, and a young, golden-hided dragon.
"How is the exercise going, sir?" The cheetah asked.
"Silence, Mira." The Purple dragon scolded. "Don't distract my daughter."
The golden-scaled youngling sat down beside Bergan and rose up to put his forepaws on the banister. Bergan glanced down to see the boy watching Tyrrany eagerly. The young dragon opened his maw to speak, only to then glance up at Bergan and close his maw sheepishly. Bergan sighed and reached over to pat the young dragon on the head.
The boy's name was Frederick, one of Tyrrany's various half-brothers. He was twelve years old, and had a sloppy mane of black hair. Frederick always liked coming to see his sister during her combat training; after all, what younger siblings didn't look up to their older ones?
Meanwhile, the purple aura glowed brighter and burned hotter around Tyrrany's body. She could feel something slipping out of place within her core; a few of the elements she hadn't fully mastered were liable to slip out of control. Tyrrany took a deep breath; she couldn't lose control. Not this time.
"Come on up, Flame." Bergan called down to the red dragon. "You'd best get out of the blast radius."
"Okay…" Flame flew up and out of the arena. He came to a swift landing beside Bergan and the golden youngling, though his eyes never left Tyrrany.
Flame grimaced. "Sir, do you think she'll-?"
"Hush, Flamaedelus." Snapped the adult fire dragon.
The teenager sheepishly lowered his head. "S-Sorry, Pop."
"She can do it…" whispered the golden youngling. "I know she can."
Flame smirked and patted the boy on the head. "Sure, Squirt."
After what felt like an eternity, Tyrrany finally got full control of her magic. She absorbed the purple aura into her scales and brought it to a single point within her core. She held the magic within her throat, and waited for her father to give the signal.
"Now… ATTACK!" Bergan bellowed. With a snap of his talons, the purple drake made all four golems lunge for the dragoness. Flame flinched, while the gathered nobles gasped.
Before any golem could strike Tyrrany, she opened her maw… and a blast of purple energy erupted out of her body like lava from a volcano. The magic rapidly engulfed the four golems in seconds. The force of the explosion caused most of the spectators to reel backwards in recoil; the only one still standing was Bergan.
The golems were obliterated by the pulsing purple power. Limbs collapsed in on themselves as they broke apart from torsos, only to dissipate into dust before they ever made contact with the ground. Soon, there was nothing left of the golems; not even gems served as a reminder that they were there.
As the last remnants of the convexity faded away, the glow around Tyrrany's body died off. She collapsed onto the floating platform and groaned in exhaustion. Flame grimaced and leaped over the railing to glide down to the dragoness. He was joined by the golden youngling and one of the dragonflies. The golden youngling circled around Tyrrany uneasily, while the dragonfly hovered a short distance from her snout.
"Sis! Are you okay?" The golden youngling asked.
"I'm fine…" Tyrrany grumbled. "Don't worry about it, Frederick."
The dragoness struggled to force herself to stand up; the energy expelled fromher body took quite a toll on her. Meanwhile, the nobles up above applauded for the dragoness.
"Sheesh, that magic was something spooky." The young dragonfly said.
"Help me get her up, will ya?" Flame asked as he stuck his head under one of Tyrrany's wings. Frederick tried doing the same with Tyrrany's other wing, though it was clear he wasn't strong enough to lift her.
"I can't really do much to lift her." The dragonfly shrugged.
"Its fine, Arthur." The dragoness snorted. She quickly backed away from Flame and forced herself up onto her haunches. "I can get up on my own."
"Well, you did great, anyway." Flame smiled.
"Yeah, you rocked!" Arthur flew around her head. "Err, no pun intended."
"Thanks…" Tyrrany sighed as she rose onto all fours. She still felt light-headed from the burst of magic. The dragoness took a few paces forward, while her brother brushed against her side. Tyrrany rolled her eyes at this; it was one of her brother's many annoying habits.
As the applause died down, Bergan cleared his throat to get Tyrrany's attention. She looked up nervously as the purple dragon wracked his talons on the railing with a stoic expression. For a moment, Tyrrany feared that she hadn't done well enough; perhaps she took too long to charge up her power. But then Bergan smiled, and he finally clapped as well.
"Congratulations, Tyrrany." He said. "It's taken you a very long time, but you've finally perfected the Convexity Fury."
Tyrrany swelled with pride, and her eyes lit up. She flapped her wings as she stepped closer toward her father. "D-Does that mean I'm finally ready, Dad?"
Bergan's smile faded, and he ran his talons through his beard. "Hmm…"
Tyrrany's heart beat rapidly and she flapped her wings. She couldn't stand it when her father held tension like this.
"Ready for what?" Frederick asked curiously.
"Shh…" Flame put a talon on his muzzle. "Adult stuff, Squirt."
Frederick just frowned, while Tyrrany kept her eyes on Bergan's gaze.
Ever since Tyrrany found out that Queen Elenar had been brought back to life, the white dragoness wanted one thing more than anything else; to hunt the Shadow Queen down. Anger boiled in Tyrrany's blood when she thought about Elenar, and the way she abandoned her father all that time ago. However, Bergan denied Tyrrany the chance of going on a revenge quest. He kept saying, over and over again, that Tyrrany wasn't strong enough to take on Elenar. So, eager to prove that she had what it took, the young heiress trained her physical and magical prowess night and day. For four long, frustrating years.
Tyrrany sighed as she looked at her scales. Ever since she was hatched, she'd been a strange dragoness. White scales; nobody she'd ever met or heard of in all the dragon realms ever had white scales. According to Bergan, white-hided dragons were among the rarest breeds in all of history, matched only by black and purple ones. The heiress was able to wield all eight of the elements of draconic magic. Unfortunately, her powers were a bit more unstable than most; it was only recently that she could properly control them.
Tyrrany had too many memories of how unstable her power was. She looked down at her forelegs, where small scars were still healing. One was when she burned herself with fire magic. Another was when an earth bomb exploded too early. And a particularly nasty one along her hand came from the time she accidentally stabbed herself with an ice spear. Sometimes, when Tyrrany looked at them for too long… they still hurt.
"So am I ready, Dad?" Tyrrany asked.
"Well, I think I need to take some time thinking it over." Bergan finally said.
Tyrrany felt like a weight had dropped onto her head. She looked down at her feet and sighed in defeat. She'd been turned down AGAIN?
"Now don't get me wrong, my dear." Bergan scolded. "I didn't say no. Your progress has been wonderful. I just need to be sure that you're ready. It's a very big decision; your quest for revenge could be a dangerous one."
"But I'm-"
Bergan held a talon up to stop her.
"Besides, there's much to be done, Tyrrany." He continued. "We have guests coming for the Grand Ball tonight, and you need to get ready to greet them. And perhaps you should take the time to practice with your music; it's been a while since you've used your magic to help others instead of yourself." Bergan grinned. "I'm sure that will be an enlightening experience."
Tyrrany sighed and bowed her head again. "Yes, Dad."
"Very good. Go and get ready, then." Bergan smiled. "I love you, Tyrrany."
"I… love you too, Dad." Tyrrany said.
With a wave of Bergan's forepaws, the arena glowed white; seconds later, it was restored to how it was before the training. Frederick gave a little yelp to which Tyrrany snorted; he was always surprised by the feats of magic their father could perform.
Tyrrany walked toward the southern doorway out of the arena. She did her best to maintain her composure while in front of the adults… but as soon as she was out of sight and earshot, she snarled under her breath; all of that hard work for seemingly nothing!
"Hey, wait up!" Arthur shouted from behind. She looked back to see the dragonfly zip up toward her. He was followed close behind by Flame and Frederick. The former lifted his goggles up from his eyes, while the latter trotted quickly in hopes of walking alongside his sister.
"Frederick!" Bergan suddenly called. "Wait!"
The golden youngling came to a quick stop. Flame and Arthur walked past Frederick as he looked up at his father. "Yes, Papa?"
"It's for the best if you give your sister some time to herself." Bergan said. "Come back up here; you'll see her again later tonight."
Frederick slumped his shoulders and frowned. "Yes, Papa…"
Tyrrany looked back and watched her brother spread his wings and take off. She frowned for only a moment, before her anger returned and she marched forward again.
"We'll see you later, Squirt." Flame said up to the golden youngling. He then turned to follow after Tyrrany and Arthur.
~~…~~
Bergan watched as his daughter and her friends left the arena. He stepped to the left so that his son could come to a landing on the platform. Once Tyrrany and her friends were out of sight, he sighed and turned to face the nobles.
"That girl grows more tenacious every day." He stated.
"Perhaps she is ready to confront her mother." Flamaedelus said. He adjusted his cloak and fell back onto his haunches. "She won't stay pacified forever."
"It's my own decision to make, Flamaedelus." The purple dragon snapped.
"What decision, Papa?" Frederick asked.
Bergan frowned down at his son. "Nothing need concern you, my boy." He patted Frederick on the head. "Head up to your room; you could do with some practice before your performance tonight."
Frederick tilted his head; he wasn't entirely convinced. "Is Annie going somewhere, Papa?"
"Frederick…" Bergan sighed and massaged his muzzle. "You're a smart boy. So you should be smart enough to know that there are some things you shouldn't have to worry about. Now run along, please." He patted Frederick's head again. "The adults have adult matters today."
Frederick sighed again and rose up onto his feet. He walked slowly past the other nobles and vanished down the hallway. Bergan frowned as he watched his son go; he never liked having to send his children out of the room… but, business was business. And his kids needed to stay out of his business, for their sake.
"Tyrrany isn't a child anymore, Sir." Flamaedelus said, drawing the purple drake's attention. "She'll be demanding to be allowed to make her own decisions soon enough. Trust me; that's how teenagers are."
"Hmph." Bergan snorted and adjusted his cloak. He rose up to make his way past the nobles and out through the doorway. "Let's take this conversation elsewhere."
Bergan, strode forward down the hallway, Flamaedelus and the other nobles following just behind him. The purple dragon adjusted his cloak and looked this way and that to be sure that nobody was listening in.
"Tonight's the big night, ladies and gentlemen." Bergan said in a quieter tone. "Our business partners from Aeroshard and Dante's Freezer will be here for the Ball. And after we've had our merry making…" Bergan stopped and looked around at the group. "The first stages of the plans will begin."
The nobles exchanged glances. One at a time, they nodded their heads in supplication toward the purple dragon. Bergan smiled in satisfaction, and turned to walk off with a flourish of his cloak.
He had a lot of work to do.
~~…~~
The two dragons and the dragonfly walked briskly down the marble hallway toward the locker rooms. Flame grimaced as he looked over Tyrrany; the dragoness had a sour disposition. As they walked, the drake felt like trying to lighten the mood with casual conversation.
"You doing okay, Annie?" He asked.
"I'm fine, Flame." She responded coldly.
"Are you sure?"
"YES!" She snapped, making Flame step back with a startle.
"Sorry…" He frowned. Flame decided to hold his tongue as they came to a stop by the locker area. Flame and Arthur stepped into the boy's room, while made her way into the girl's room with a snort. The floor was made of blue hard-tiles, and the walls were off-white. Various metal lockers were arranged in rows all across the room, and a few shower stalls were placed along the far wall.
Tyrrany was alone in here; she rarely came around when other students were present… and never with her scales exposed. She approached her locker, the nearest one to the doorway without being directly visible through it. She pulled out the outfit she wore whenever she needed to go out in public.
First, she pulled on four long, black wool stockings over all four of her legs. Each one went all the way up her leg to her torso, and had holes for the tips of her talons to fit through. She then put on a similar stocking over her tail, which also went up to her torso. Next, she folded in her wings and tied a black cloak of the same material around her neck, which fell over her back and covered part of her legs. The cloak came with a specially-designed hood for the dragoness to hide her horns and hair behind.
After putting all of this on, Tyrrany pulled a satchel out of her locker. The satchel was made of golden thread, and was emblazoned with the image of crossed möbius signs on the flat side of the satchel. After grabbing this item, the dragoness approached a mirror on the far side of the locker room. She opened the satchel up and pulled out a container filled with purple makeup.
She spent the better part of an hour putting the makeup on every one of the white scales on her face and part of her neck.
Her father didn't want too many dragons knowing that Tyrrany's hide was white. He said that if anybody found out, they would hunt the heiress down and kill her as if she were a monster. This would happen because, in the past, almost all white dragons have been cold-blooded, amoral, cannibalistic monsters. Bergan said that Tyrrany was an exception to this, but most dragons wouldn't agree. As a result, the purple drake had an outfit and makeup commissioned for his daughter to wear whenever she goes out in public.
As she grew, Tyrrany had to keep getting new outfits. The only people who knew about her secret were Bergan, Flame, Arthur, Anthony, a few of Bergan's closest subordinates… and her siblings.
Tyrrany understood the reasons for the disguise… but that didn't mean she didn't snarl every time she put the disgusting purple GOOP on her face. The smell, the texture, the itchiness… it was a nightmare every time.
She wanted to just throw the makeup and stupid clothing away, and show the whole world her white hide. But she new this would have dire consequences: She would no doubt end up having to fight for her life against an entire city of people, maybe even an entire world. So, the heiress did as her father told her... no matter how much she hated it.
When she finally finished with the makeup, she put the container away and pulled out the biggest item in her locker: her violin case. She pulled it out, opened it up, and gazed upon the item within.
The violin was made of the finest wood that money could by, and had a varied assortment of runes and glyphs imprinted on the short sides of its perimeter. The stalk of the instrument was emblazoned with the image of a red phoenix rising from a pile of ashes. The four strings were tightly tuned over the large circle that revealed the insides of the violin. On the backside of the instrument was a message embedded into the wood, which was carved by paw. The message read:
A very special treasure, for MY special treasure. As long as you hold this violin, you hold physical proof that there is someone out there who loves you dearly. Whatever the color of your scales, I shall love and care for you, now and forever.
Tyrrany sighed as she traced her forepaws delicately over the strings. She picked up her bow, grasped the handle, and sat back on her haunches to play a few tunes. Whenever the dragoness got stressed out, she played her music to ease her mind.
As the dragoness was playing, she heard the door to the locker room open up. She flinched as two dragoness, one red and one blue, were chatting together. The two of them were wearing Faeshrine Academy student uniforms.
"…And then I told him to ditch the cap." The icy dragoness chuckled.
"Wow…" The red one muttered. "I never would have guessed that-"
Both dragonesses gasped upon seeing Tyrrany in the locker room. The purple dragoness sneered and put her violin bow down as the two of them backed up against a wall.
"Oh, uh… Miss Tyrrany." The red dragoness bowed her head. "We, uh, didn't realize this locker room was occupied."
"It won't be in a minute." The dragoness snorted. She closed up her case, attached it to her satchel, and stood up. "I'm done here."
"Right, okay!" The blue dragoness exclaimed. She sheepishly stepped away from the door as Tyrrany walked past them. As she put her hand on the door, Tyrrany glanced back with a scowl. Both dragonesses yelped and looked away. Tyrrany just scoffed and stepped out the door.
Flame was out in the hall, seated on his haunches by the boys' locker door. Arthur was slumped down atop the red drake's snout, and the pair were talking about this and that. But as soon as they saw Tyrrany approach, Flame sat up and sent Arthur falling to the floor.
"Gah!" The dragonfly yelped as he beat his wings to slow his descent.
"Oops." Flame blushed, though Tyrrany could hardly tell. "Sorry, bud."
"Watch it next time…" Arthur grumbled as he flew up to hover beside Flame's head.
"Hi." She said quickly, feeling undignified. "Let's get out of here."
"Looking good, Annie." Flame replied.
"Shut up, Flame." The now-purple dragoness sneered.
"That's our Angry Annie!" Arthur smirked.
Tyrrany groaned and shook her head before walking off ahead. "Come on, let's go."
Flame and Arthur quickly followed close behind.
Anrgy Annie was Arthur and Flame's pet name for Tyrrany. The dragoness supposed that she'd given them plenty of reason to call her that over the years. Honestly, she thought the pet name was stupid. But more often than not she couldn't bring herself to confront the pair over it. Not when they were the only friends she had.
As Tyrrany was growing up in Faeshrine, she didn't get along with other children very well. At first, when she was only a little cub, other kids made fun of the fact that she always wore a strange outfit and couldn't control her magic as well as the others. But the worst thing that she was mocked for was the fact that she always cried about not having a mother. She tried to fight back at first, but she was hopelessly outnumbered by the older and bigger cubs.
However, when she was six years old, and being bullied by a girl name Jenna and her friends, Flame and Arthur came to her rescue. Tyrrany didn't know what to make of the two boys at first, but eventually became grateful for their help. From then on, the red dragon and green dragonfly were the only two other kids who poked a little fun with her. However, a lot of kids, especially Jenna, continued to mock the heiress, especially when her two friends weren't around. The white dragoness was left broken hearted.
And then, when the Tyrrany was twelve years old, a day came when an earth dragoness tried to yank Tyrrany's cloak off to see what she was hiding behind it. A new emotion flared inside the white dragoness: Rage. She immediately turned and, for the first time, unleashed a great blast of fire breath from her maw, setting the other girl aflame. Unfortunately, the attack harmed Tyrrany as well, and both girls were rushed to the infirmary.
From that day on, the white dragoness trained herself, allowing herself to become stronger physically and magically. With this power, she began brutally attacking anyone who tried to harm her again. Soon, fewer kids made fun of her, and more kids FEARED her. Her father Bergan didn't approve of this behavior, and would often punish her if she got too out of hand. So, Tyrrany did her best to avoid most other young dragons her age.
Despite all this, Flame and Arthur remained as loyal of friends to the dragoness as they always had. They were the only ones that Tyrrany would, on occasion, open up to.
It was the middle of the afternoon as the trio of teenagers walked out of the front doors of Faeshrine Academy. Immediately the hustle and bustle of countless dragons and non-dragons assaulted Tyrrany's ear frills. Most of the non-dragons were down below on the city streets, while many dragons flew about in the sky. It was quite a majestic view… from high atop the giant mushroom.
Faeshrine was known as the City of Wonders throughout the dragon realms. After all, how many dragon cities were built in the middle of a majestic forest of mushrooms? Dozens of the buildings were built atop the wide caps of the mushrooms from east to west; this was known as the dragon district. Meanwhile, on the ground, many more buildings were carved out of the stalks and reinforced with stone. And between those many stalks were interconnected streets, upon which many carriages and trolleys ventured back and forth. Most of the architecture ranged in shades of purple, which complimented the golden mushroom caps and stalks splendidly.
The Faeshrine Academy sat atop one of the largest mushrooms in the city. It was joined by two others, all of which sat at the very heart of Faeshrine. The FTC's headquarters was on the mushroom to the west. Tyrrany sighed as she glanced at that building; there was much work to be done there later today. She snorted and stepped in the opposite direction; she didn't want to be dragged down with that right now. Not when things were going the way they were.
"So, where do you guys want to go?" Flame asked. Tyrrany blinked and looked over at the red drake.
"Well, we could hang out at the Arial Gardens." Arthur suggested.
"Again?" Flame groaned. "It's so boring there. Nothing to do."
"Well, I happen to like the gardens, man." The dragonfly snapped. Flame rolled his eyes. "The bellflowers are amazing this time of year, and there's plenty of butterflies to go around."
"Well, where do you suggest we go, Tyrrany?" He asked the dragoness. Tyrrany sighed and looked up at the edges of the sunlight.
"There're only a few hours left before King Saul arrives." She stated. "And that means he is going to arrive here, too."
Flame and Arthur frowned. The red dragon sat back on his haunches and grimaced. "Yeah…"
"He's the last person that I want to see tonight." The dragoness continued. "So, I'm going to spend the rest of my free time as far away from him as possible: I'm going to the hideout."
"The hideout?" Arthur repeated.
"You two can come if you want, but that's where I'm going." She turned toward the edge of the mushroom cap and started walking.
Off in that direction was a tower that connected to a cable car; one of many others that connected the countless mushroom caps to each other. It was mostly for the non-dragons… but Tyrrany wasn't exactly able to take flight with so much baggage.
Flame flashed Arthur a quick glance. "I guess we better go along, Artie."
The dragonfly sighed and shook his head. "So much for the Arial Gardens."
Flame pulled his goggles over his eyes and ran after Tyrrany, Arthur flying close behind.
The dragoness walked across the mushroom cap, her two friends following close behind. She got in line with a crowd of cheetahs and waited for the cable car to arrive to take her north.
At that very moment, an earth dragon, one whom Tyrrany hated more than any other dragon close to her age, was rapidly approaching Faeshrine.
~~…~~
Three large, wood-and-metal ships were sailing across the central ocean.
The harsh waters of the sea crashed violently against the vessels as a nasty storm took place. The sky was almost completely hidden away by blackened clouds, and millions of droplets of water crashed violently against the decks of the ships. The winds blew harshly against the white sails of the vessels, trying as hard as they could to blow them off-course. The very air was partially covered in mist, making it all the more difficult to continue onwards. A multitude of sailors ran about the boats, doing their jobs to prevent the vessels from becoming severely damaged.
Each vessel was large enough to carry up to seventy beings, dragon and non-dragon alike. They all had great white sails, which had the image of a yellow, Inverted Circle: The sigil of the earth dragon royal family. These vessels belonged to Saul, former king of the city of Glenhaven.
The earth dragon stood upon the bow of the lead ship, staring off at the sea ahead with his yellow eyes.
Saul wore the same cape he always wore over his wings, though his uniform was patched up here and there. He scowled as he looked to the skies; storms seemed to follow him wherever he sailed aboard his flagship, the Red Queen.
Four years had passed since the Dark dragons reappeared. Four years since Saul was exiled from his own kingdom. He dug his talons into the wood and snarled; Saul had to do everything in his power to hold onto what few territories were still under his control. Telus and the Elders of Glenhaven had taken practically everything from him, and there were few other cities who offered Saul respite or unity.
Elenar… Saul thought as he barred his fangs. Damn you, Elenar!
The dragoness Elenar was now known as the High Queen of Warfang. Thanks to her, Saul and his family was stripped of everything. Oh, how he wanted vengeance; Saul wanted nothing more than to sink his talons deep into her flesh and tear her asunder. But for four years, Saul saw no hope of getting his revenge on those who'd stolen from him. At least… up until now.
As he stood upon the bow, Saul had become severely drenched by the never-ending torrent of water splashing across his body. However, he didn't care: He was too busy looking onwards towards the north. He could just barely see the northern continent looming on the horizon. The ships were headed for the southeastern-most edge of the northern continent. The Mushroom Forest waited, as did the city that sat on the coast.
Saul and his immediately family were traveling to the city of Faeshrine for a variety of reasons. One of the most prominent ones was to attend a Regal Ball being held to celebrate the eighteenth birthday of Tyrrany, the daughter of President Bergan.
"Bergan…" Saul sighed uneasily.
Bergan was one of Saul's last remaining allies. They weren't the best of friends growing up, but the purple dragon was a viable business partner of Saul's father Gaius over the years. The FTC would supply Aeroshard and Glenhaven with goods and supplies, while King Gaius supplied Faeshrine with soldiers. But with Gaius gone, it was up to Saul to keep the business relationship going. And soon, Saul's own son would have to do his part to keep the union strong. But while there would be pleasantries abound, Saul had another… more personal reason for meeting with Bergan.
"It won't be long now." The earth dragon said in a gruff voice. "Once we get to Faeshrine, everything can begin."
"Hey, get back here!" Someone shouted across the way. Saul curiously turned in time to see a teenaged lightning dragon scampering across the deck. A cheeah sailor was angrily pursuing the dragon and muttering curses. The young dragon looked back at the cheetah and laughed at him. Saul took this opportunity to glide down across the way and step into the teen's path… it didn't take long for him to slam against Saul as if he were brick wall.
"Oof!" The drake fell backward onto the deck. There was a clattering noise; the teenager dropped a gold necklace. When the teenager noticed he dropped it, he reached out for it, only for the cheetah to swipe it away.
"What's going on here?" Saul demanded.
"This little punk tried to steal from me!" The cheetah hissed as he stowed the necklace within his jacket.
"Is that so?" Saul's eyes narrowed.
"Uh…" The lightning dragon said nervously. "Maybe?"
With a frustrated roll of his eyes, Saul grabbed the teenager by the neck and forced him onto his feet. He then signaled for two other sailors to approach, which made the teenager tense up.
"Take this brat down to the brig; he's to be confined there for the rest of the trip." Saul ordered.
"Yes, sir!" The dragons said, which mate the teenager gasp in fright. He tired to get away, but he couldn't escape Saul's grip. The sailors put a muzzle on the teenager and proceeded to drag him below-deck.
"Hey, come on!" The teenager shouted as he was dragged away. "Johnny said you were cool!"
Saul flinched, and snorted. Of course one of his son's friends would say something like that. Perhaps it was time to teach his son a quick lesson…
"LORD GENERAL!" A fire dragon behind the wheel of the ship called out.
Saul winced; that had been his title for a long time, to be sure, but it frustrated him that he was no longer called a king. But he sucked in his pride and turned to address the fire drake.
"What is it?" He demanded.
"This storm is going to delay us from getting to the northern continent before Sunset, sir." The sailor stated. "We'll be lucky if we can make it within the next twenty-four hours!"
"Keep the vessel moving towards Faeshrine!" Saul commanded. "And quicken the pace, why don't you? We need to get to that Ball post-haste!"
"But sir! The ship might take severe damage at this rate alone." The dragon stated. "Who knows what will happen if-!"
"That's an order, sailor!" The earth dragon bellowed. "Follow it!"
The sailor winced. "Yes, Lord General."
Saul turned to roar at the rest of his crew. That certainly got their attention in a hurry.
"Listen up!" He began. "I want all able-bodied water dragons onboard the three vessels to start using their powers to lift the excess rainwater off the ships and into the ocean! IMMEDIATELY!"
"Y... Yes, sir." They all responded in unison.
"And in the meantime, I want several others of them to clear the way for us to see in this weather!"
"Aye aye, Lord General!"
Saul turned around and walked towards the entryway towards the lower cabins of the main ship. He grimaced. "Where is that boy when you need him?"
The earth dragon pushed the doorway open and marched downstairs.
The general made his way through the wooden bowels of the ship, pushing past the occasional sailor who ran off on his way to his assigned duties. The aged wood of the ship's bowels creaked with every step he took, and the heavily muffled sound of waves crashing against the ship's hull could be heard.
Saul walked past his wife Olivia's personal quarters, and found himself walking towards the doorway that let to Saul's office. He could hear voices coming from inside the doorway, and knew immediately who was inside. The earth dragon groaned.
"Of course." He muttered. "Always following his own rules..."
Saul pushed the doorway open and looked inside, eyeing the dragons in the room.
The Captain's quarters were one of the larger chambers in the main vessel. It was at the far end of the ship, and as such, the back wall had a massive windowpane running along it, which was protected by a thick barrier that resembled chain link armor. The raging sea could be seen just beyond it. Several shelves with various trinkets were decorated along the other walls of quarters, and a large, metal desk sat at the center of it, covered in various notebooks, quills, seafaring maps, and other such items.
All about the room, at least eight dragons of various ages and elements were chatting about various topics. Most of them were dressed in dirty bandanas and rags, and some were even carrying small weapons. Whatever they were talking about, it would remain a mystery, for all of the young dragons looked upon Saul with shock and alarm. The Commander glared at most of them, but soon turned his gaze towards the center of the quarters.
Just behind the desk, there was a large, silk cushion, with a large wall to protect the sitter's backside, and a small hole at the base for the tail to slip through. The cushion was turned towards the back window, away from Saul. The lime green tail of a dragon was protruding from the chair, and a small, silver switchblade was being tossed into the air, caught in the hidden dragon's forepaw, and tossed into the air yet again. Two young dragonesses stood on either side of the Cushion, a blue one on the left and a red one on the right. They happily watched the hidden dragon's every move, and caught the switchblade for him whenever it fell slightly out of his reach.
Saul sighed. "Jonathan."
The hidden dragon stopped tossing his switchblade into the air, rotated the cushion around, and looked up at his father.
"Hi, Dad." Jonathan said with a slight grin.
Jonathan was eighteen years old. The past thickness of his build had slowly slimmed down a bit, and he had become taller. His dark brown cloak had seen a lot of wear and tear over the last four years. His mane was short and wild; he never liked brushing it. Two silver rings decorated each of the ankles on his forelegs, and a large quantity of silver piercings dotted his horns and eye ridges. But the most prominent, unnerving aspect of Jonathan's face were the three grueling scars that arced across his muzzle; his worst wound from the battle for Warfang all that time ago.
Saul looked across at his son with irritation. But he took a breath and did his best to steady himself.
"Jonathan," He began, "you know very well that your... friends aren't allowed in my quarters. In fact, it's only rarely that I allow you to come in here."
"You serious, Pops?" The younger earth dragon asked, feigning astonishment. "Oh man, my bad." Jonathan looked around at the other young dragons. "Well, you heard 'em, boys and girls." He said with a shrug. "Better clear out now, before my old man blows his top."
Without a word, the other young dragons rushed past the General and out into the hallway. The fire and water dragonesses standing on either side of Jonathan lightly kissed each side of his face just before taking off, making him blush. Soon, the two earth dragons were alone in the quarters.
When it came to Jonathan, Saul was at an emotional crossroads. The young earth drake was Saul and Olivia's only child, and as such was the General's only heir. Saul and Jonathan shared the same ultimate hope: To make the Dark dragoness Elenar pay for the humiliation they'd suffered, and for denying them the right to revive King Gaius. Furthermore, once Jonathan had come of age, the General had wished for his son to enlist in the army of Aeroshard, so that he'd have the proper physical and mental training that Saul had at that age.
However, despite the General's best efforts, Jonathan had ended up becoming more than a bit of a brat. The young dragon adamantly refused to join the academy, and hardly ever liked acknowledging that he was even of royal blood at all. In the years since the royal family's banishment from Glenhaven, Jonathan took a liking to making friends with various street urchins in Aeroshard. Nowadays he'd made his own little gang of thugs, and they were becoming quite a thorn in Saul's side.
"Jonathan, we need to talk." Saul said with another sigh.
"About what, Pops?" Jonathan queried. "What's up?"
"It's about this gang of yours." Saul answered sternly.
"Oh, you mean the Crazy Aces?" The younger dragon asked. "What about them?"
"For too long now, you and your group of thugs have been causing quite a number of problems in Aeroshard." The General sat down on his haunches. "Time and again, I hear reports about a group of teenagers, your 'boys', breaking into someone's business or place of residence, and performing acts of vandalism or other public indecencies."
Jonathan's expression weakened slightly, but he still held a slight grin on his face.
"As a matter of fact…" Saul brought head a bit closer to his son. "one of your boys got caught pick-pocketing one of my sailors; I had to send him off to the brig."
"Geez, which one was it?" Jonathan asked. "What is Reynold? I'll bet it was Reynold."
"It doesn't matter which one it was; the fact that any of them did it at ALL is a problem." Saul snapped.
"Well my boys can't help themselves sometimes." Jonathan said as he tossed his switchblade into the air again. "There're an awful lot of suckers back home."
"SUCKERS?" Saul bellowed. The adult dragon snatched the switchblade out of the air, causing his son to flinch.
"The people of Aeroshard are YOUR people, Jonathan!" The Commander roared. "Aeroshard is the last bastion of power that our family has! I cannot stand how you willingly due harm to innocent beings! Beings whom you should be preparing to guide as their future ruler, no less!"
The young dragon stammered for a bit. "Well, I..."
"You have been guilty of a large number of crimes, Jonathan." Saul interrupted. "Luckily, up until this point, I have been able to have the blame get passed on to some of your older subordinates, since you were a minor when the crimes were committed. However, now that you are eighteen, you are now a legal adult by Draconic law. If you, or any of your gang members, commit one more crime in Aeroshard, I will have no choice but to have you detained!"
Jonathan gasped, and looked up at his father in fear. Upon seeing this, the adult dragon's wrathful expression weakened to a frown of disapproval.
"Do you think I want to do such a thing, Jonathan?" The General asked, finally calmed down.
"Uh, no, Pops..." The young dragon answered sheepishly.
"Of course not." Saul put the switchblade down and sighed. "You're the only son I have, Jonathan, and you mean the world to me. However, I am a Ruler first, and a father second. I simply must protect my people from any and all threats, even those in the form of my own family. And this gang of yours is a great threat to my people, which makes you a great threat to my people, at this rate."
"If you hate the Crazy Aces so much," Jonathan asked, "then why did you invite them on this little pleasure cruise to Faeshrine?"
Saul sighed and scratched his head with a wing-thumb.
"You will see soon enough." He answered. "And while we're on the subject of Faeshrine, there is a matter that needs bringing up."
The young dragon's eyes beamed. "You're talking about her, right?"
"Yes." Saul answered, setting the switchblade down on the desk before Jonathan. "When you meet her again, I trust you will know how to treat her. You will be spending a lot of time with her in the near future, you know."
The young dragon's grin grew wider. "Oh, I know, alright. And I can't wait to see my future Dad-in-law, too. That Bergan's always been a cool guy."
"Uh, yes..." Saul replied, uneasy with the use of modern-day slang. "In any case, we will be arriving shortly. Go pack your things, and make sure that your 'boys' don't steal anything from the ship."
"Whatever, Pops."
"I'm serious, Jonathan." Saul scolded. "From now on, you're on thin ice. If you or any of your gang members perform so much as a misdemeanor upon anything or anyone under Aeroshard jurisdiction, you will suffer dearly for it. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Po-"
"And stop calling me that." The General interrupted. "I am your father, and you are to show me the proper respect."
"Yes... Father." He said halfheartedly. "Whatever you say."
"Good. Now get going."
The young earth dragon got up from the desk, grabbed his switchblade, and walked past Saul to leave the quarters. The General watched him go, a frown on his face.
If I cannot stop him from committing crimes, he thought, then maybe I can at least have him commit crimes against my enemies.
~~…~~
Greetings, friends and loved ones.
Once upon a time, in 2011, I wrote the original version of Forsaken Blood in about 3 weeks; one chapter per day. And it was terrible. Awful. No good, and very bad. I wrote some things that make my eyes bleed these days. Chief among them; my obsessive habit of capitalizing ALL the nouns! I tried rewriting the story in 2012… but I never finished it, because I was still a bad writer.
But hey, here we are in the latest, definitive version. Welcome to The Legend of Rune: Forsaken Blood! After nine years in development, hopefully it will have been worth the wait.
(A cookie to anyone who gets the reference).
Tenebra ecce Veritas.
