Chapter 1
Before the new generation of Dragoons arrived, many stories had been left untold, forgotten, or fantastical. There was only one true Dragon Campaign story, and that is mine. All others have been stretched and remade to make people think of happier times, or give them hope for a new today. The original Dragoons were the one who heard the clash of swords echo, who pledged their sworn friendship to one another, and let their journey to know today begin. They were free to sever the chains of fate that banded them.
Cordis sat out on the balcony of the castle. He looked out to the surrounding mountains, staring in awe at their beauty. He had seen bigger things, but after the Winglies had taken over everything, he was not restrained only to see what was outside of his Kingdom. Cordis was the King of the Dragons, and he was a hunted being at that. He had many attendants, and many humans that went out every so often to see if things were getting any better outside of their hidden palace. brCordis was an average size for a Dragon. Almost nine feet tall, long snout, tough, black, scales, and wings of course. He could easily fly out of the Kingdom, but his disadvantage with the Winglies, was that they could fly too./br br"Cordis, Zieg has returned," one of the higher Dragons on the council said, startling the King./br "Thank you Dante. Does he wish to come in? Or do I have to go to the conference room?" "He can come in if you are okay with it, sir," Dante said respectfully, not mockingly. Dante turned to leave the room. His long red tail dragged on the floor, making a slight scraping sound. He left the King's chambers, and shut the door. The room was very large, seeing how something very large lived in it. It was nothing detailed, just stone walls, stone floor, and a stack of hay in the corner. Dragons couldn't sleep in beds like Winglies, Humans, and Gigantos could. It was somewhat damp, and somewhat cold according to the humans. Dragons felt very comfortable in the castle though. Dante returned with a human in red rags following behind him. "How was your trip Zieg?" Cordis asked. "Dangerous," the man replied. "I was almost caught by the Winglies." "And?" "I killed them." Cordis laughed and turned away from his scenic view saying, "If they catch you now, you will die a terrible death." "What else could I do? Pray and worship them?" Zieg laughed. Cordis did his best to smirk like humans did, but it was hard with his Dragon mouth. "Did you get anything with the money I gave you?" "No sir," Zieg answered solemnly. "Why not? That money is yours to have." "I wanted to give it to Syuveil." Cordis snorted and replied quickly, "Why him?" "He is conducting a new experiment and he needed some money." "Why was I not informed of this new experiment?" "It is nothing much. He is studying the God Soa and all the races. He thinks there is a new race coming. He found some materials where the tree should be, and he is now seeing what he can make of them," Zieg replied, looking at the hilt of the sword in his scabbard. "Zieg, come here." Zieg slowly paced over to where Cordis was. He was much shorter than the King, probably by a good three feet, and he was not as wide. "Look out to the world that I see." Zieg's eyes scanned the horizon, looking up at the clouds and the mountains and the plains. "Is the world still this pretty beyond all this?"
Zieg hesitated and replied, "No. There is death and destruction everywhere. People are still able to live out on the streets, but if they do, it's because they escaped from the Winglies. When they are caught, they are slaughtered with no questions asked. I stayed with a childhood friend of mine who also escaped the Winglies. I cannot imagine being in his shoes. He has his mother and father with him, very sick at that, and his wife and son. His son is four years old now, and very confident that he will be a great General that will lead the humans, Dragons, and Gigantos into war against the Winglies." "The boy has dreams at least. The Winglies have been merciful enough to let him keep those," Cordis replied, thinking about what Zieg reported. "Dreams."
"Syuveil?" Dante called into the laboratory. "Are you in here?" There was a loud engine roaring and a loud chiseling sound. Dante jumped in surprise and looked for the scientist. This room was made of nothing but stone, but it was cramped and filled with old rocks, chemicals, and other dubious looking pieces of equipment. Dante walked to the back of the room, and found Syuveil doing something with a large red rock. "Syuveil!" Dante yelled. The man dressed in green rags looked up from what he was doing and removed the safety goggles that rested over his eyes. "Yes Dante?" He questioned politely. "Cordis wants to see you. He is questionable about what you are doing with his money and all this time down here." Syuveil grunted and put his chisel down. He turned picked the stone up and replied, "I'll be there in one moment. I have to prepare for a quick presentation." "Well that's not the main thing he wants to see you for. He is calling you, Rose, and Zieg to a quick meeting. He wants send you guys out into the world to go do something." Syuveil grunted again and was about to complain, when Dante turned his back, not wanting to hear it, and left the room. Syuveil combed his hair chestnut brown hair back with his hand, and ran outside following Dante.
Cordis sat in the main conference room, where his throne was. He sat comfortable there, with three other Dragons sitting next to him. Zieg sat at a table in front of him, and Syuveil was seated next to Zieg. The three Dragons were Catharsis, Xemorph, and Jakt. They were all as big as Cordis, but much less fearful looking. Catharsis was a blue Dragon, Xemorph was black like the king, and Jakt was a dull yellow color. Cordis was impatient that his last human was late, but very soon, she came running in, panting. "Thank you Rose," Cordis said sarcastically. "Please try to be on time next meeting, I called this to your attention first, yet you showed up last." "I'm sorry sir," She apologized, fixing her long black hair. She sat down on the other side of Zieg, and crossed her legs. "Good one Snow White," Zieg chuckled to himself, letting Rose hear him purposely. That was his small nickname for her because her skin was as white as snow. She always interpreted this as his way of flirting and nudged his arm, giving him a sexy looking expression. Cordis was oblivious to the fact that they always did this, and just started to talk. "Now, time to get to business. First, I want to tell you the mission I want to send you all on." The humans looked at each other, fearful of what may be ahead of them. "General Kein, the Wingly General, is the backbone for all the destruction of the Humans. He, Melbu Frahma, and Sorceress Perda all are responsible for the rise of the Winglies. General Kein is always out in the open in the battlefields, and I want you three to assassinate him. "That is crazy," Zieg blurted out. "It's suicide. What shall we attack him with? How will we get behind his lines? We have no long range weapons," Syuveil added. "Us Dragons are loaded with magical items that can reach long distance," Catharsis replied, glancing over to Cordis. The Humans all felt a shiver run through their back as they pictured what may be ahead of them. The Winglies could fly for one thing, and that's one of the major advantages of the Winglies over the humans. Another, was that they overpopulated them and had more stock of weapons and armor. "Why can't you come with us?" Zieg asked. "We are the Dragons council. The last of the Dragons. We are extremely powerful, but not powerful enough to go out there on our own." "Cordis, we were friends," Zieg implemented. "If we go out there, I will die. You are sentencing me to death right now friend." "Please do not think of it that way. Think of it as doing something revolutionary for all of humankind," Jakt answered. "We do not mean to make you feel like you're going to die, because chances are you may not." "They are right," Dante put in. "You three humans are probably the most skilled out of most others on this world." "It is settled though. My next question is, Syuveil, what lab are you conducting?" Cordis asked. "Ah, I will be right back," Syuveil smiled. He went outside the room, and next to the door frame on the floor was his red stone. He gently picked it up and cradled it in his arms. It was not much bigger than one of his fists, and it was fairly light, yet it sparkled like a pearl, yet Syuveil knew it was stronger than slate. He turned and went back into the room. The Dragons all stared at the rock, and Zieg was smiling. "Do not laugh. It is not just a round, red, stone. I have harnessed special powers inside of it. This can be a very useful weapon to us," Syuveil presented. Xemorph was laughing and then said, "More powerful than us Dragons?" Syuveil smirked and replied, "More powerful than the Winglies." Everybody in the room was smiling. Syuveil was a good man at heart, but none of his experiments ever worked. Nothing ever came out right or was realistically correct. "Gimme this, " Zieg laughed, grabbing the stone from Syuveil. In that instant, the whole room lit up with a light brighter than the sun. Cordis roared, shaking the room, and the other Dragons were squealing from the light. Zieg cried out from the stone burning his hand, and Rose fell out of her chair, covering her eyes with her head facing the floor. Another three seconds later, the light faded out, and came down to nothing but a faint glow. "Syuveil!" Cordis snarled while jumping up on the table. Cordis dove at Syuveil and pinned him against the wall. There was a loud slam as the green dressed scientist hit the wall. "What is that!" Cordis demanded loudly. "I can't see!" The other Dragons were crying out. "I cannot either!" Syuveil snapped back. "I may not be able to see either," Cordis started, "but I can still smell you and sense where you are Syuveil." "Please sir, I don't know what happened to it," Syuveil pleaded. The poor young man felt the Black King's hot breath on his face, and heard is nostrils flaming with anger. Cordis let go of Syuveil, stumbled over, and fell down to the ground unconscious. Zieg felt the rock still burning in his hand, and just as his eyesight was coming back to him, it faded to black, and he fell down to the floor.
Banja heard a terrible roar and then a loud slam from the hallway. She stopped looking down at her dry skin for a second, and went over to the conference room. She rapped her knuckles on the wooden door. Banja was human, as were most of the people that seeked refuge in Cordis' castle. She heard no answer and then opened the door. Her attention went to a red orb in Master Zieg's hand that was glowing brightly. Everybody in the room was unconscious. Her brain zipped through a list of options of what to do. She turned to look for somebody in the hallway, and she was in luck. "Donna!" Banja cried. "Come here quick!" Donna, the woman in the hallway ran to the other human. She walked into the room and her eyes lit up in fear. "What happened here?" Donna asked. "I have no clue," Banja replied. "Let me get the other three Dragons," Donna offered. "You stay with these poor guys."
Zieg opened his eyes slowly. There were stars in front of his eyes, and he had a headache that felt like somebody was driving a dagger into his skull. His whole body tingled, and he did his best to tilt his head left and right to see where he was. He saw Syuveil in the bed next to him, and Rose in the one on the other side. He noticed the four Dragons lying on bales of hay across the room. Banja and Donna along with the nurse, Carrin, sat next to the other beds across the room. Zieg was in the infirmary, and he knew who to blame for his ending up there. He did his best to sit up. He was able to do it with none of the women seeing him. He scooted over to the edge of the bed, and then stood up. He looked at the unconscious Syuveil, and brought his fist down into that sweet, innocent, face. The women heard the loud thump and immediately ran to Zieg and the bleeding Syuveil. The scientist sat up and started yelling in pain. He turned to Zieg, still foggy from the bright light, and pounced on his bed. He straddled Zieg and started to pound on his chest and face. The women did their best to restrain him, but as much as this scientist was smart, he was immensely strong. He was not your stereotypical geeky scientist, but more a handsome young man with brown hair, dark blue eyes, a built upper body, and a bloody nose. Zieg pushed Syuveil off of him and the scientist hit the floor. He was laughing. Zieg started to laugh as well. The two were not enemies, but more, best friends. They had escaped the Winglies together, traveled to the Kingdom together, and went on minor missions together. Rose started to wake up, as did the other Dragons. "You men are so unpredictable," Rose commented, rubbing her eyes. "Is that a compliment or an insult?" Syuveil asked, standing up from the stone floor. "Syuveil!" Cordis shouted. "How the hell did you make that stone?" "I went to the remains of the Divine Tree and found some funny looking rock material. I banded it all together by color, and came up with a bunch of different stones. The Red one was the first one that I actually completed, and there are still seven more I have to finish." "Screw the magic items, we're using those stones man. They blind everything in sight. We can wipe out not only the General, but the whole frickin army," Dart inputted happily. Syuveil smiled and said," So I finally came up with an experiment that works."
Soon, everybody was able to be up and about again. Cordis forgave Syuveil, and he went to Rose and Zieg separately to see how they were feeling. "So Rose, I started to notice lately what you and Zieg are doing when you think I'm not looking," Cordis chuckled. Rose's white skin turned red as she blushed, and she simply replied, "Oh that's nothing." "I hope I can trust you two alone on this mission." Rose felt embarrassed, but she tried to act as normal as she could. Cordis could see that she was tense, and he put his claw on her shoulder. As much as the claw was very rough and sharp, knowing that Cordis would comfort her made her relax. "Make sure you two take care of Syuveil," he reminded her. "He may be the only one who can fix things if those stones go wrong."
Zieg and Syuveil were in Syuveil's lab room. "God damn Syu, there is so much crap in here," Zieg joked looking at some of his chemistry tubes. "Just don't touch anything," Syu reminded he curious friend. "Which stone are you working on next?" questioned, pacing over to the busy scientist. "The Green one. My favorite color," he replied. "It is almost complete." Zieg watched his friend mold the stone and refine it to be as smooth and round as humanly possible. Sparks flew off the stone, and small jade- colored chips fluttered to the floor at Syu's feet. "Is it almost done?" Zieg said out loud. "Almost," Syu said faintly, obviously very occupied with his current project. He turned the wheel off and put the chisel down, and when he picked up the Green stone, the whole room lit up with a Jade color. Zieg's stone started to resonate as well. "What wonderful little things," Zieg said happily. "Is it just me, or do you feel some kind of pull on these things?" "What do you mean?" And just as Zieg answered his friend, the Jade stone plunged itself into Syu's chest. He let out a silent scream as he levitated into the air and a wind started to blow through the room. Zieg's eyes when wide when he saw this, and soon he realized the Red Stone was pulling itself into him as well. The Red Stone dug itself into Zieg's chest, and he too levitated in the air. He looked to Syu and watched his friend's mutation. Zieg was mortified. What would Cordis do now? What if they died? What if they mutated into something that killed all the Dragons? Suddenly there was a rip and a large splatter of blood as wings burst out of Syu's back. His head flew backward, holding in all the pain. Zieg knew he had the same future as he felt the wings rupture his skin as well. It felt painful. So painful it almost felt numb. Zieg watched his rags transform from cloth to a hard, light, red metal. The rock unburied itself from his chest and now rested in the front of the red armor. The same thing happened to Syu, except his armor was Green. "What the hell happened?" Syu said, feeling a bolt of adrenaline surge through him. "Syuveil, you are a genius," Zieg smiled. "We are, hmm... I think the proper name would be Dragoons!" "Should we tell Cordis about this?" Syu asked. "No. Keep this a secret. Tell nobody, not even Rose." At that second though, Banja walked into the room and shrieked when she saw the two Dragoons. Her scream echoed throughout the halls and sent a shock down Zieg's spine. He flew at her full speed and knocked her back. "Quiet you fool!" He yelled at her. "God damnit Syu, how do we get out of this form?" Syuveil yanked at the stone. It came out easily, and a bright green flash he was down to normal. Zieg did the same, and in a bright red flash, he was human again. "Banja, you cannot tell a soul," Zieg made her promise Cordis bashed through the wooden door into the room. "What's wrong Banja?" He asked impatiently. "I asked you to get Zieg and Syuveil to come up to the conference room. Not create commotion." "B-b-but Lord Cordis," Banja stammered while glancing at Zieg and Syuveil. Zieg waved his red stone at her menacingly to scare her. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I thought I saw a rat." Cordis sighed loudly and turned to the two humans saying, "You have four hours before you must leave to kill Kein." Zieg and Syuveil nodded and as Cordis left the room, they both ran to the stone making table and continued making the other six stones while letting Banja watch them.
Rose sat in her bedroom reading a book. Her book was about a young man who left his home to search for riches and gold for his family. He came upon a runaway girl and the two fell in love. It was almost like her and Zieg, except the opposite. Zieg was the one running away, and Rose was looking for wealth. Rose had met Zieg four years prior to that moment. Zieg, Syu, and Rose were all about 22 now. The two men had known each other since they were 10, and Rose had met them when they were all 18. Her best friend since birth, Shirley, let Rose make her escape from Jameson Port Town. That's where Syu and Zieg were from, and the three eventually met at Cordis' castle. The Winglies knew that the castle existed, but they had no clue where it was. Suddenly Syu and Zieg burst in her room holding more stones. Zieg had the red one, Syu had a green one, and in his other hand was a yellow one. "Catch!" Syu cried, throwing Rose the yellow stone. "This isn't wise Syu," Zieg warned. "We can't let everybody know about this." Rose caught the yellow sphere, but nothing happened. No bright light, no magic genies, no magical spell. It was just a rock sitting in her hands. "I don't understand," Syuveil said sadly. "Why did it work for us?" "Try the other stone," Zieg suggested. Syu's face lit up as he took a blue one out of his pouch at his side. He tossed it to Rose, yet still nothing happened. "What has gotten into you guys lately? You're starting to freak me out," Rose said annoyed. "Sorry to disturb you. I guess it doesn't work for you," Zieg apologized. "C'mon Syu, let's at least go finish that last few." Syu and Zieg left the room very slowly, their heads down in disappointment. Rose felt no pity at all for them; she had no clue what they were doing. They shut the door softly behind them; yet Rose reopened it and followed them silently back down the hallway to the lab.
They walked into the lab immediately went to the back of the room. Banja was with them. They had shut the door, not all the way, but most of it. The woman dressed in black, Rose, slowly opened the wooden door, making sure for it not to creak. She made it into the room, and put the door in the position that Zieg had closed it. As she walked to the back of the room, she saw Banja quietly chatting with Syu while he molded the next stone, but as she looked for Zieg, she noticed that he was in the corner, examining the red stone. She hid behind one of the column-like supports and knelt down. "Syu," He called lightly. "I'm going to try this stone out again." Rose did not know what he meant by "Try the Stone out Again", but soon, she found out. She sat there in horror as she saw her best friend morph into this large dragon-looking creature. It still looked human, but with semi-bulky armor and a wings, just like a Wingly. Just like a Wingly. Those few words lingered in Rose's mind, as she realized what was going on. They were going to betray Cordis and become Winglies. "It didn't hurt this time," Zieg smiled. "That's good. I wouldn't ever want to go through that again," Syu replied looking up from finishing the purple stone. Zieg pulled the stone out of his armor, and the wings molded back into his skin along with the armor. He went from this massive looking abnormality, to the handsome, once trusting man that Rose knew. She could no longer be with her friends. She thought to report this to Cordis as she was sneaking out, but she knew that these two massive figures could have the whole Wingly army on the castle in seconds. Rose silently stood up, and tip-toed out of the room, slowly shutting the door behind her, and left the "Winglies" to do their thing.
Cordis had round up the three humans, along with Donna and Banja as well with the other Dragon officials. "Now remember, here is the map for your trip. Do not lose it. Remember, once you're out there, there is no turning back. If you guys aren't back in three weeks. I will consider you all dead. Is this all clear?" Cordis commanded Zieg nodded as Rose gave him the evil eye. Xemorph handed the map and instructions to Zieg. "Remember not to lose the stones either," Jakt remarked. "We would die for those stones," Syu replied giving a quick wink to Banja as Rose stiffened. If you lost them, you probably would die, Rose thought to herself. The Dragons walked the adventurers to the front gate, and led them out to the grassy fields. The cold mountain air filled Zieg's nostrils and cleared his sinuses as he carried the scroll and a small bag full of dried food. Cordis stomped his feet as the Dragon's sign of good luck. He roared, and the three other Dragons mimicked the king. The mountains echoed with their roars and the loud pounds on the ground. Soon, from inside the castle, every other dragon was roaring and stomping around as Zieg, Syuveil, and Rose started to walk the rocky mountain pass.
Kanzas's cave suddenly erupted with the large echo of Dragon's roaring, and he knew he was almost at Cordis' castle. He smiled and cracked his knuckles.
"So Rose, you like being outside?" Zieg asked his flirty friend. Rose made a noise of agreement and tried to give a little smile. Zieg felt awkward now, and Syuveil could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong. They left the subject alone though. "What happened to your family?" Zieg persisted, trying to make the situation lighter. "Dead." Zieg was puzzled as to what he could have done wrong, and he decided not to ask any more questions. He gripped the red ball tightly in his side pouch and glanced nervously at Syuveil. "Zieg, how long is this pass?" Syu asked, not having the scroll. Zieg opened up the papers and found a heavily detailed map. Donna made the map. She was a cartographer, and the Dragons needed her because they could not write with their claws. He studied the rolled up paper, but could not find out the answer. "She made it too complicated," Zieg complained. "Give me it," Rose said impatiently as she ripped the map out of his hands. She looked at it and then continued, "It's a topographical map you jackass, didn't you ever learn to read one of these? Do you even know where we are on this map?" Zieg felt inferior and stupid now, and did his best to reply with a comeback, "Excuse me Snow White, but I never went to school, I was too busy improving my battle skills and strength as I worked as a slave for the Winglies." Rose shook her head vigorously, and then looked at the map again. "It's a twelve mile walk." Syuveil's head jerked forward, and his eyes went as wide as if he had just found out that the Moon that Never Sets actually had set. "Twelve miles?" He complained and asked at the same time. "Did you not understand the words that came out of my mouth?" She snapped back. "And Zieg, don't call me Snow White." "Okay Rose, enough, what's wrong?" Zieg blurted out. Rose punched Zieg across the face. He didn't stumble; it didn't hurt. She didn't have the heart to punch the man she had secretly been in love with for three years. Zieg didn't retaliate, he just had a confused look on his face. "What did I do?" Zieg asked. "Not just you. Both of you." "What?" Syuveil interrupted. "What did I do?" "You traitors! You're both Winglies! Those stones are Wingly inventions! You two are spies, and you're leading us right into a trap!" Syuveil and Zieg were speechless, and then they started to laugh. "Where did you get that idea?" Zieg asked. "I saw you in the lab Zieg. I saw you two and Banja all in there. You got wings, just like a Wingly. You are going to betray Cordis!" "We are not Winglies. We are Dragoons. That's why we handed you the stones, we wanted to see if it would work on you," Syuveil replied. "You're lying. You wanted to turn me into a Wingly too. I'm going to end this right now though!" Rose grabbed Syuveil's pouch full of stones and pulled one of them out. It was the Yellow one. She threw it on the ground, and then took out another. Before Syuveil could grab his bag back, the whole area lit up with a black light. Rose fell to her knees as she felt the black stone drive itself right into her chest. She cried out, but no sound could be made. She felt the wings shoot out of her back as blood flew from the openings. She felt the black armor come out of her skin and form on her body. In twenty seconds, it was over. Dart and Syuveil had smiles on their faces. They picked up the stone Rose dropped, and then Syuveil was jumping around yelling out how marvelous it was to have an experiment that worked. Rose grew horribly angry though. "You turned me into a Wingly!" She yelled. "No. I guess black was your color, and you became a Dragoon just like us. All you have to do to go back to normal is pull the stone out of your chest," Zieg said. Rose did like he advised, and he was right, in a flash of pain, she was back to normal. "This still doesn't mean that you're not Winglies." "Of course it does. The other two didn't work on you, but I guess this one did. Plus, if we were Winglies, why didn't we just assassinate Cordis ourselves? With these powerful bodies, we could take them on," Syuveil said after all his excitement. Rose lightened up a little bit and said, "I guess you guys are right. I'm sorry." "Wait, I just thought of something too. This is a twelve mile walk," Syu implemented. "Why can't we fly to the end of the pass?" Rose and Zieg smiled. He was right. Rose put the stone to her chest, and Syu and Zieg did the same. This time, it didn't hurt for Rose, and it didn't for Zieg or Syu either. They were Dragoons now. And they had no clue what powers they could harness with the stones. "Syu, we haven't tried flying yet have we?" Zieg chuckled. "It can't be that hard," Rose said aloud. Zieg jumped up in the air, and landed back down on his feet. His face had a puzzled expression. He jumped again, but landed on his feet as he did before. "It's like I don't have the muscles to use my wings," he sad to myself. Syu sighed deeply, and looked down at the ground. He tried to, but he successfully flapped his wings. His face lit up as he spoke, "All you have to do is, umm.., flex your back muscles almost." Rose tried that, and after a lot of difficulty, she made it into the air as well. Finally, it was Zieg's turn. He was able to do it now. He was wearing a smile that went from ear to ear. The three Dragoons flew up into the sky, laughter coming from their mouths. "What a great experience!" Rose shouted. "All these years people have been missing out on this!" "I feel like a Dragon now!" Zieg cried out happily. "Now I know what it must feel like to be constrained in a castle for so many years without being able to fly!" The Dragoons flew across the sky, darting back and forth, when soon, Zieg felt his wings starting to fail him. He flew down to the ground, and fell to his knees. Rose and Syu landed next to him. Syu hit the ground hard and fell backward in pain. "Better luck next time," Rose laughed at Syu. "You okay Zieg?" "Yeah. My back is just tired. How far have we gone?" Rose looked at the map. Her face suddenly became very solemn. "We were heading in the wrong direction." "What!" Syuveil shouted as he stood up. "But we followed the pass the whole way!" "Yes we did. But there is more than one pass I guess. I didn't see them on the map before." Zieg pulled the stone from his chest, and in a flash of red light, he was back to normal. Syu did the same, and then Rose copied. They felt a warm sense of relief go through their bodies. They were much more relaxed now, and Zieg had the strength to go on, now that he wasn't a Dragoon. Syuveil stood there, when suddenly, a man body slammed him from the side. Syu flew backward and crashed into a rock wall. The man tripped Rose, making her land hard on her back with the wind knocked out of her. The man held a sword, and tried to put it through Zieg. Zieg jumped aside, but the man swung the blade at him even more wildly. Zieg was on his own, unarmed. The man put the sword by his side and kicked Zieg in the chest. Zieg was not fast enough to block the man's move, but he knew that he was falling to the ground. When he hit, he curled his body backward and kicked back up onto his feet. The man pushed him again and Zieg felt himself hit a rock wall. The man had the blade at Zieg's throat, when suddenly there was a roar, and a large black figure sideswiped the man. Zieg felt a large gust of wind fly by him as he saw the man fumble through the air from the hit. Standing tall in front of them, was Cordis, the Dragon King. Jakt, Catharsis, Xemorph, Dante, and one of the other Dragons, Ryu-Kinta, flew closely behind. They all landed behind Cordis, and they let out a large roar. "Cordis!" Rose coughed. "What are you doing here?" Cordis turned to her and said, "We felt guilty. So we decided to band together. We couldn't find you, but then we saw a bright flash over here, which we assumed was the stone, and we figured that it was you." "Dragons with Winglies?!" The man exclaimed. "What is this! What are you doing Cordis!?" "Winglies?" Cordis questioned, turning to the Dragoons. "We found something magnificent in the stones," Zieg said. "They turn us into Wingly-looking creatures." "Show us," Dante commanded. Zieg brought the stone to his chest, as did Rose, and then Syuveil did the same. Three bright lights, Red, Green, and Black, shot through the area, and then before the Dragon council stood three Dragoons. "For some reason, they work on some people but not on others," Syuveil said, searching his pouch for the rest of the stones. He pulled out the purple one, and then a bright flash of purple scattered throughout the mountains. Zieg turned his head just in time as he shouted out, "Another one!" The flash ended. "Syu, bring it around to everybody and hold it near their chest." Syuveil went over to Cordis and held it out. Nothing. Then the rest of the Dragons. Nothing. Then he went to the fallen man. He felt the stone sucked out of his hand, and embed itself into the man's chest. "What is your name?" Syu asked with a smile on his face.
"Kanzas," the man replied. "Welcome to the team." "What? I was headed to the castle, not with you guys." "Kanzas. I am the Dragon King," Cordis spoke up. "You will come with us if you can harness this power." "Fine. Then come with me humans, I have weapons back at my cave I can give you," Kanzas offered. And with that, my Legend begins.
Before the new generation of Dragoons arrived, many stories had been left untold, forgotten, or fantastical. There was only one true Dragon Campaign story, and that is mine. All others have been stretched and remade to make people think of happier times, or give them hope for a new today. The original Dragoons were the one who heard the clash of swords echo, who pledged their sworn friendship to one another, and let their journey to know today begin. They were free to sever the chains of fate that banded them.
Cordis sat out on the balcony of the castle. He looked out to the surrounding mountains, staring in awe at their beauty. He had seen bigger things, but after the Winglies had taken over everything, he was not restrained only to see what was outside of his Kingdom. Cordis was the King of the Dragons, and he was a hunted being at that. He had many attendants, and many humans that went out every so often to see if things were getting any better outside of their hidden palace. brCordis was an average size for a Dragon. Almost nine feet tall, long snout, tough, black, scales, and wings of course. He could easily fly out of the Kingdom, but his disadvantage with the Winglies, was that they could fly too./br br"Cordis, Zieg has returned," one of the higher Dragons on the council said, startling the King./br "Thank you Dante. Does he wish to come in? Or do I have to go to the conference room?" "He can come in if you are okay with it, sir," Dante said respectfully, not mockingly. Dante turned to leave the room. His long red tail dragged on the floor, making a slight scraping sound. He left the King's chambers, and shut the door. The room was very large, seeing how something very large lived in it. It was nothing detailed, just stone walls, stone floor, and a stack of hay in the corner. Dragons couldn't sleep in beds like Winglies, Humans, and Gigantos could. It was somewhat damp, and somewhat cold according to the humans. Dragons felt very comfortable in the castle though. Dante returned with a human in red rags following behind him. "How was your trip Zieg?" Cordis asked. "Dangerous," the man replied. "I was almost caught by the Winglies." "And?" "I killed them." Cordis laughed and turned away from his scenic view saying, "If they catch you now, you will die a terrible death." "What else could I do? Pray and worship them?" Zieg laughed. Cordis did his best to smirk like humans did, but it was hard with his Dragon mouth. "Did you get anything with the money I gave you?" "No sir," Zieg answered solemnly. "Why not? That money is yours to have." "I wanted to give it to Syuveil." Cordis snorted and replied quickly, "Why him?" "He is conducting a new experiment and he needed some money." "Why was I not informed of this new experiment?" "It is nothing much. He is studying the God Soa and all the races. He thinks there is a new race coming. He found some materials where the tree should be, and he is now seeing what he can make of them," Zieg replied, looking at the hilt of the sword in his scabbard. "Zieg, come here." Zieg slowly paced over to where Cordis was. He was much shorter than the King, probably by a good three feet, and he was not as wide. "Look out to the world that I see." Zieg's eyes scanned the horizon, looking up at the clouds and the mountains and the plains. "Is the world still this pretty beyond all this?"
Zieg hesitated and replied, "No. There is death and destruction everywhere. People are still able to live out on the streets, but if they do, it's because they escaped from the Winglies. When they are caught, they are slaughtered with no questions asked. I stayed with a childhood friend of mine who also escaped the Winglies. I cannot imagine being in his shoes. He has his mother and father with him, very sick at that, and his wife and son. His son is four years old now, and very confident that he will be a great General that will lead the humans, Dragons, and Gigantos into war against the Winglies." "The boy has dreams at least. The Winglies have been merciful enough to let him keep those," Cordis replied, thinking about what Zieg reported. "Dreams."
"Syuveil?" Dante called into the laboratory. "Are you in here?" There was a loud engine roaring and a loud chiseling sound. Dante jumped in surprise and looked for the scientist. This room was made of nothing but stone, but it was cramped and filled with old rocks, chemicals, and other dubious looking pieces of equipment. Dante walked to the back of the room, and found Syuveil doing something with a large red rock. "Syuveil!" Dante yelled. The man dressed in green rags looked up from what he was doing and removed the safety goggles that rested over his eyes. "Yes Dante?" He questioned politely. "Cordis wants to see you. He is questionable about what you are doing with his money and all this time down here." Syuveil grunted and put his chisel down. He turned picked the stone up and replied, "I'll be there in one moment. I have to prepare for a quick presentation." "Well that's not the main thing he wants to see you for. He is calling you, Rose, and Zieg to a quick meeting. He wants send you guys out into the world to go do something." Syuveil grunted again and was about to complain, when Dante turned his back, not wanting to hear it, and left the room. Syuveil combed his hair chestnut brown hair back with his hand, and ran outside following Dante.
Cordis sat in the main conference room, where his throne was. He sat comfortable there, with three other Dragons sitting next to him. Zieg sat at a table in front of him, and Syuveil was seated next to Zieg. The three Dragons were Catharsis, Xemorph, and Jakt. They were all as big as Cordis, but much less fearful looking. Catharsis was a blue Dragon, Xemorph was black like the king, and Jakt was a dull yellow color. Cordis was impatient that his last human was late, but very soon, she came running in, panting. "Thank you Rose," Cordis said sarcastically. "Please try to be on time next meeting, I called this to your attention first, yet you showed up last." "I'm sorry sir," She apologized, fixing her long black hair. She sat down on the other side of Zieg, and crossed her legs. "Good one Snow White," Zieg chuckled to himself, letting Rose hear him purposely. That was his small nickname for her because her skin was as white as snow. She always interpreted this as his way of flirting and nudged his arm, giving him a sexy looking expression. Cordis was oblivious to the fact that they always did this, and just started to talk. "Now, time to get to business. First, I want to tell you the mission I want to send you all on." The humans looked at each other, fearful of what may be ahead of them. "General Kein, the Wingly General, is the backbone for all the destruction of the Humans. He, Melbu Frahma, and Sorceress Perda all are responsible for the rise of the Winglies. General Kein is always out in the open in the battlefields, and I want you three to assassinate him. "That is crazy," Zieg blurted out. "It's suicide. What shall we attack him with? How will we get behind his lines? We have no long range weapons," Syuveil added. "Us Dragons are loaded with magical items that can reach long distance," Catharsis replied, glancing over to Cordis. The Humans all felt a shiver run through their back as they pictured what may be ahead of them. The Winglies could fly for one thing, and that's one of the major advantages of the Winglies over the humans. Another, was that they overpopulated them and had more stock of weapons and armor. "Why can't you come with us?" Zieg asked. "We are the Dragons council. The last of the Dragons. We are extremely powerful, but not powerful enough to go out there on our own." "Cordis, we were friends," Zieg implemented. "If we go out there, I will die. You are sentencing me to death right now friend." "Please do not think of it that way. Think of it as doing something revolutionary for all of humankind," Jakt answered. "We do not mean to make you feel like you're going to die, because chances are you may not." "They are right," Dante put in. "You three humans are probably the most skilled out of most others on this world." "It is settled though. My next question is, Syuveil, what lab are you conducting?" Cordis asked. "Ah, I will be right back," Syuveil smiled. He went outside the room, and next to the door frame on the floor was his red stone. He gently picked it up and cradled it in his arms. It was not much bigger than one of his fists, and it was fairly light, yet it sparkled like a pearl, yet Syuveil knew it was stronger than slate. He turned and went back into the room. The Dragons all stared at the rock, and Zieg was smiling. "Do not laugh. It is not just a round, red, stone. I have harnessed special powers inside of it. This can be a very useful weapon to us," Syuveil presented. Xemorph was laughing and then said, "More powerful than us Dragons?" Syuveil smirked and replied, "More powerful than the Winglies." Everybody in the room was smiling. Syuveil was a good man at heart, but none of his experiments ever worked. Nothing ever came out right or was realistically correct. "Gimme this, " Zieg laughed, grabbing the stone from Syuveil. In that instant, the whole room lit up with a light brighter than the sun. Cordis roared, shaking the room, and the other Dragons were squealing from the light. Zieg cried out from the stone burning his hand, and Rose fell out of her chair, covering her eyes with her head facing the floor. Another three seconds later, the light faded out, and came down to nothing but a faint glow. "Syuveil!" Cordis snarled while jumping up on the table. Cordis dove at Syuveil and pinned him against the wall. There was a loud slam as the green dressed scientist hit the wall. "What is that!" Cordis demanded loudly. "I can't see!" The other Dragons were crying out. "I cannot either!" Syuveil snapped back. "I may not be able to see either," Cordis started, "but I can still smell you and sense where you are Syuveil." "Please sir, I don't know what happened to it," Syuveil pleaded. The poor young man felt the Black King's hot breath on his face, and heard is nostrils flaming with anger. Cordis let go of Syuveil, stumbled over, and fell down to the ground unconscious. Zieg felt the rock still burning in his hand, and just as his eyesight was coming back to him, it faded to black, and he fell down to the floor.
Banja heard a terrible roar and then a loud slam from the hallway. She stopped looking down at her dry skin for a second, and went over to the conference room. She rapped her knuckles on the wooden door. Banja was human, as were most of the people that seeked refuge in Cordis' castle. She heard no answer and then opened the door. Her attention went to a red orb in Master Zieg's hand that was glowing brightly. Everybody in the room was unconscious. Her brain zipped through a list of options of what to do. She turned to look for somebody in the hallway, and she was in luck. "Donna!" Banja cried. "Come here quick!" Donna, the woman in the hallway ran to the other human. She walked into the room and her eyes lit up in fear. "What happened here?" Donna asked. "I have no clue," Banja replied. "Let me get the other three Dragons," Donna offered. "You stay with these poor guys."
Zieg opened his eyes slowly. There were stars in front of his eyes, and he had a headache that felt like somebody was driving a dagger into his skull. His whole body tingled, and he did his best to tilt his head left and right to see where he was. He saw Syuveil in the bed next to him, and Rose in the one on the other side. He noticed the four Dragons lying on bales of hay across the room. Banja and Donna along with the nurse, Carrin, sat next to the other beds across the room. Zieg was in the infirmary, and he knew who to blame for his ending up there. He did his best to sit up. He was able to do it with none of the women seeing him. He scooted over to the edge of the bed, and then stood up. He looked at the unconscious Syuveil, and brought his fist down into that sweet, innocent, face. The women heard the loud thump and immediately ran to Zieg and the bleeding Syuveil. The scientist sat up and started yelling in pain. He turned to Zieg, still foggy from the bright light, and pounced on his bed. He straddled Zieg and started to pound on his chest and face. The women did their best to restrain him, but as much as this scientist was smart, he was immensely strong. He was not your stereotypical geeky scientist, but more a handsome young man with brown hair, dark blue eyes, a built upper body, and a bloody nose. Zieg pushed Syuveil off of him and the scientist hit the floor. He was laughing. Zieg started to laugh as well. The two were not enemies, but more, best friends. They had escaped the Winglies together, traveled to the Kingdom together, and went on minor missions together. Rose started to wake up, as did the other Dragons. "You men are so unpredictable," Rose commented, rubbing her eyes. "Is that a compliment or an insult?" Syuveil asked, standing up from the stone floor. "Syuveil!" Cordis shouted. "How the hell did you make that stone?" "I went to the remains of the Divine Tree and found some funny looking rock material. I banded it all together by color, and came up with a bunch of different stones. The Red one was the first one that I actually completed, and there are still seven more I have to finish." "Screw the magic items, we're using those stones man. They blind everything in sight. We can wipe out not only the General, but the whole frickin army," Dart inputted happily. Syuveil smiled and said," So I finally came up with an experiment that works."
Soon, everybody was able to be up and about again. Cordis forgave Syuveil, and he went to Rose and Zieg separately to see how they were feeling. "So Rose, I started to notice lately what you and Zieg are doing when you think I'm not looking," Cordis chuckled. Rose's white skin turned red as she blushed, and she simply replied, "Oh that's nothing." "I hope I can trust you two alone on this mission." Rose felt embarrassed, but she tried to act as normal as she could. Cordis could see that she was tense, and he put his claw on her shoulder. As much as the claw was very rough and sharp, knowing that Cordis would comfort her made her relax. "Make sure you two take care of Syuveil," he reminded her. "He may be the only one who can fix things if those stones go wrong."
Zieg and Syuveil were in Syuveil's lab room. "God damn Syu, there is so much crap in here," Zieg joked looking at some of his chemistry tubes. "Just don't touch anything," Syu reminded he curious friend. "Which stone are you working on next?" questioned, pacing over to the busy scientist. "The Green one. My favorite color," he replied. "It is almost complete." Zieg watched his friend mold the stone and refine it to be as smooth and round as humanly possible. Sparks flew off the stone, and small jade- colored chips fluttered to the floor at Syu's feet. "Is it almost done?" Zieg said out loud. "Almost," Syu said faintly, obviously very occupied with his current project. He turned the wheel off and put the chisel down, and when he picked up the Green stone, the whole room lit up with a Jade color. Zieg's stone started to resonate as well. "What wonderful little things," Zieg said happily. "Is it just me, or do you feel some kind of pull on these things?" "What do you mean?" And just as Zieg answered his friend, the Jade stone plunged itself into Syu's chest. He let out a silent scream as he levitated into the air and a wind started to blow through the room. Zieg's eyes when wide when he saw this, and soon he realized the Red Stone was pulling itself into him as well. The Red Stone dug itself into Zieg's chest, and he too levitated in the air. He looked to Syu and watched his friend's mutation. Zieg was mortified. What would Cordis do now? What if they died? What if they mutated into something that killed all the Dragons? Suddenly there was a rip and a large splatter of blood as wings burst out of Syu's back. His head flew backward, holding in all the pain. Zieg knew he had the same future as he felt the wings rupture his skin as well. It felt painful. So painful it almost felt numb. Zieg watched his rags transform from cloth to a hard, light, red metal. The rock unburied itself from his chest and now rested in the front of the red armor. The same thing happened to Syu, except his armor was Green. "What the hell happened?" Syu said, feeling a bolt of adrenaline surge through him. "Syuveil, you are a genius," Zieg smiled. "We are, hmm... I think the proper name would be Dragoons!" "Should we tell Cordis about this?" Syu asked. "No. Keep this a secret. Tell nobody, not even Rose." At that second though, Banja walked into the room and shrieked when she saw the two Dragoons. Her scream echoed throughout the halls and sent a shock down Zieg's spine. He flew at her full speed and knocked her back. "Quiet you fool!" He yelled at her. "God damnit Syu, how do we get out of this form?" Syuveil yanked at the stone. It came out easily, and a bright green flash he was down to normal. Zieg did the same, and in a bright red flash, he was human again. "Banja, you cannot tell a soul," Zieg made her promise Cordis bashed through the wooden door into the room. "What's wrong Banja?" He asked impatiently. "I asked you to get Zieg and Syuveil to come up to the conference room. Not create commotion." "B-b-but Lord Cordis," Banja stammered while glancing at Zieg and Syuveil. Zieg waved his red stone at her menacingly to scare her. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I thought I saw a rat." Cordis sighed loudly and turned to the two humans saying, "You have four hours before you must leave to kill Kein." Zieg and Syuveil nodded and as Cordis left the room, they both ran to the stone making table and continued making the other six stones while letting Banja watch them.
Rose sat in her bedroom reading a book. Her book was about a young man who left his home to search for riches and gold for his family. He came upon a runaway girl and the two fell in love. It was almost like her and Zieg, except the opposite. Zieg was the one running away, and Rose was looking for wealth. Rose had met Zieg four years prior to that moment. Zieg, Syu, and Rose were all about 22 now. The two men had known each other since they were 10, and Rose had met them when they were all 18. Her best friend since birth, Shirley, let Rose make her escape from Jameson Port Town. That's where Syu and Zieg were from, and the three eventually met at Cordis' castle. The Winglies knew that the castle existed, but they had no clue where it was. Suddenly Syu and Zieg burst in her room holding more stones. Zieg had the red one, Syu had a green one, and in his other hand was a yellow one. "Catch!" Syu cried, throwing Rose the yellow stone. "This isn't wise Syu," Zieg warned. "We can't let everybody know about this." Rose caught the yellow sphere, but nothing happened. No bright light, no magic genies, no magical spell. It was just a rock sitting in her hands. "I don't understand," Syuveil said sadly. "Why did it work for us?" "Try the other stone," Zieg suggested. Syu's face lit up as he took a blue one out of his pouch at his side. He tossed it to Rose, yet still nothing happened. "What has gotten into you guys lately? You're starting to freak me out," Rose said annoyed. "Sorry to disturb you. I guess it doesn't work for you," Zieg apologized. "C'mon Syu, let's at least go finish that last few." Syu and Zieg left the room very slowly, their heads down in disappointment. Rose felt no pity at all for them; she had no clue what they were doing. They shut the door softly behind them; yet Rose reopened it and followed them silently back down the hallway to the lab.
They walked into the lab immediately went to the back of the room. Banja was with them. They had shut the door, not all the way, but most of it. The woman dressed in black, Rose, slowly opened the wooden door, making sure for it not to creak. She made it into the room, and put the door in the position that Zieg had closed it. As she walked to the back of the room, she saw Banja quietly chatting with Syu while he molded the next stone, but as she looked for Zieg, she noticed that he was in the corner, examining the red stone. She hid behind one of the column-like supports and knelt down. "Syu," He called lightly. "I'm going to try this stone out again." Rose did not know what he meant by "Try the Stone out Again", but soon, she found out. She sat there in horror as she saw her best friend morph into this large dragon-looking creature. It still looked human, but with semi-bulky armor and a wings, just like a Wingly. Just like a Wingly. Those few words lingered in Rose's mind, as she realized what was going on. They were going to betray Cordis and become Winglies. "It didn't hurt this time," Zieg smiled. "That's good. I wouldn't ever want to go through that again," Syu replied looking up from finishing the purple stone. Zieg pulled the stone out of his armor, and the wings molded back into his skin along with the armor. He went from this massive looking abnormality, to the handsome, once trusting man that Rose knew. She could no longer be with her friends. She thought to report this to Cordis as she was sneaking out, but she knew that these two massive figures could have the whole Wingly army on the castle in seconds. Rose silently stood up, and tip-toed out of the room, slowly shutting the door behind her, and left the "Winglies" to do their thing.
Cordis had round up the three humans, along with Donna and Banja as well with the other Dragon officials. "Now remember, here is the map for your trip. Do not lose it. Remember, once you're out there, there is no turning back. If you guys aren't back in three weeks. I will consider you all dead. Is this all clear?" Cordis commanded Zieg nodded as Rose gave him the evil eye. Xemorph handed the map and instructions to Zieg. "Remember not to lose the stones either," Jakt remarked. "We would die for those stones," Syu replied giving a quick wink to Banja as Rose stiffened. If you lost them, you probably would die, Rose thought to herself. The Dragons walked the adventurers to the front gate, and led them out to the grassy fields. The cold mountain air filled Zieg's nostrils and cleared his sinuses as he carried the scroll and a small bag full of dried food. Cordis stomped his feet as the Dragon's sign of good luck. He roared, and the three other Dragons mimicked the king. The mountains echoed with their roars and the loud pounds on the ground. Soon, from inside the castle, every other dragon was roaring and stomping around as Zieg, Syuveil, and Rose started to walk the rocky mountain pass.
Kanzas's cave suddenly erupted with the large echo of Dragon's roaring, and he knew he was almost at Cordis' castle. He smiled and cracked his knuckles.
"So Rose, you like being outside?" Zieg asked his flirty friend. Rose made a noise of agreement and tried to give a little smile. Zieg felt awkward now, and Syuveil could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong. They left the subject alone though. "What happened to your family?" Zieg persisted, trying to make the situation lighter. "Dead." Zieg was puzzled as to what he could have done wrong, and he decided not to ask any more questions. He gripped the red ball tightly in his side pouch and glanced nervously at Syuveil. "Zieg, how long is this pass?" Syu asked, not having the scroll. Zieg opened up the papers and found a heavily detailed map. Donna made the map. She was a cartographer, and the Dragons needed her because they could not write with their claws. He studied the rolled up paper, but could not find out the answer. "She made it too complicated," Zieg complained. "Give me it," Rose said impatiently as she ripped the map out of his hands. She looked at it and then continued, "It's a topographical map you jackass, didn't you ever learn to read one of these? Do you even know where we are on this map?" Zieg felt inferior and stupid now, and did his best to reply with a comeback, "Excuse me Snow White, but I never went to school, I was too busy improving my battle skills and strength as I worked as a slave for the Winglies." Rose shook her head vigorously, and then looked at the map again. "It's a twelve mile walk." Syuveil's head jerked forward, and his eyes went as wide as if he had just found out that the Moon that Never Sets actually had set. "Twelve miles?" He complained and asked at the same time. "Did you not understand the words that came out of my mouth?" She snapped back. "And Zieg, don't call me Snow White." "Okay Rose, enough, what's wrong?" Zieg blurted out. Rose punched Zieg across the face. He didn't stumble; it didn't hurt. She didn't have the heart to punch the man she had secretly been in love with for three years. Zieg didn't retaliate, he just had a confused look on his face. "What did I do?" Zieg asked. "Not just you. Both of you." "What?" Syuveil interrupted. "What did I do?" "You traitors! You're both Winglies! Those stones are Wingly inventions! You two are spies, and you're leading us right into a trap!" Syuveil and Zieg were speechless, and then they started to laugh. "Where did you get that idea?" Zieg asked. "I saw you in the lab Zieg. I saw you two and Banja all in there. You got wings, just like a Wingly. You are going to betray Cordis!" "We are not Winglies. We are Dragoons. That's why we handed you the stones, we wanted to see if it would work on you," Syuveil replied. "You're lying. You wanted to turn me into a Wingly too. I'm going to end this right now though!" Rose grabbed Syuveil's pouch full of stones and pulled one of them out. It was the Yellow one. She threw it on the ground, and then took out another. Before Syuveil could grab his bag back, the whole area lit up with a black light. Rose fell to her knees as she felt the black stone drive itself right into her chest. She cried out, but no sound could be made. She felt the wings shoot out of her back as blood flew from the openings. She felt the black armor come out of her skin and form on her body. In twenty seconds, it was over. Dart and Syuveil had smiles on their faces. They picked up the stone Rose dropped, and then Syuveil was jumping around yelling out how marvelous it was to have an experiment that worked. Rose grew horribly angry though. "You turned me into a Wingly!" She yelled. "No. I guess black was your color, and you became a Dragoon just like us. All you have to do to go back to normal is pull the stone out of your chest," Zieg said. Rose did like he advised, and he was right, in a flash of pain, she was back to normal. "This still doesn't mean that you're not Winglies." "Of course it does. The other two didn't work on you, but I guess this one did. Plus, if we were Winglies, why didn't we just assassinate Cordis ourselves? With these powerful bodies, we could take them on," Syuveil said after all his excitement. Rose lightened up a little bit and said, "I guess you guys are right. I'm sorry." "Wait, I just thought of something too. This is a twelve mile walk," Syu implemented. "Why can't we fly to the end of the pass?" Rose and Zieg smiled. He was right. Rose put the stone to her chest, and Syu and Zieg did the same. This time, it didn't hurt for Rose, and it didn't for Zieg or Syu either. They were Dragoons now. And they had no clue what powers they could harness with the stones. "Syu, we haven't tried flying yet have we?" Zieg chuckled. "It can't be that hard," Rose said aloud. Zieg jumped up in the air, and landed back down on his feet. His face had a puzzled expression. He jumped again, but landed on his feet as he did before. "It's like I don't have the muscles to use my wings," he sad to myself. Syu sighed deeply, and looked down at the ground. He tried to, but he successfully flapped his wings. His face lit up as he spoke, "All you have to do is, umm.., flex your back muscles almost." Rose tried that, and after a lot of difficulty, she made it into the air as well. Finally, it was Zieg's turn. He was able to do it now. He was wearing a smile that went from ear to ear. The three Dragoons flew up into the sky, laughter coming from their mouths. "What a great experience!" Rose shouted. "All these years people have been missing out on this!" "I feel like a Dragon now!" Zieg cried out happily. "Now I know what it must feel like to be constrained in a castle for so many years without being able to fly!" The Dragoons flew across the sky, darting back and forth, when soon, Zieg felt his wings starting to fail him. He flew down to the ground, and fell to his knees. Rose and Syu landed next to him. Syu hit the ground hard and fell backward in pain. "Better luck next time," Rose laughed at Syu. "You okay Zieg?" "Yeah. My back is just tired. How far have we gone?" Rose looked at the map. Her face suddenly became very solemn. "We were heading in the wrong direction." "What!" Syuveil shouted as he stood up. "But we followed the pass the whole way!" "Yes we did. But there is more than one pass I guess. I didn't see them on the map before." Zieg pulled the stone from his chest, and in a flash of red light, he was back to normal. Syu did the same, and then Rose copied. They felt a warm sense of relief go through their bodies. They were much more relaxed now, and Zieg had the strength to go on, now that he wasn't a Dragoon. Syuveil stood there, when suddenly, a man body slammed him from the side. Syu flew backward and crashed into a rock wall. The man tripped Rose, making her land hard on her back with the wind knocked out of her. The man held a sword, and tried to put it through Zieg. Zieg jumped aside, but the man swung the blade at him even more wildly. Zieg was on his own, unarmed. The man put the sword by his side and kicked Zieg in the chest. Zieg was not fast enough to block the man's move, but he knew that he was falling to the ground. When he hit, he curled his body backward and kicked back up onto his feet. The man pushed him again and Zieg felt himself hit a rock wall. The man had the blade at Zieg's throat, when suddenly there was a roar, and a large black figure sideswiped the man. Zieg felt a large gust of wind fly by him as he saw the man fumble through the air from the hit. Standing tall in front of them, was Cordis, the Dragon King. Jakt, Catharsis, Xemorph, Dante, and one of the other Dragons, Ryu-Kinta, flew closely behind. They all landed behind Cordis, and they let out a large roar. "Cordis!" Rose coughed. "What are you doing here?" Cordis turned to her and said, "We felt guilty. So we decided to band together. We couldn't find you, but then we saw a bright flash over here, which we assumed was the stone, and we figured that it was you." "Dragons with Winglies?!" The man exclaimed. "What is this! What are you doing Cordis!?" "Winglies?" Cordis questioned, turning to the Dragoons. "We found something magnificent in the stones," Zieg said. "They turn us into Wingly-looking creatures." "Show us," Dante commanded. Zieg brought the stone to his chest, as did Rose, and then Syuveil did the same. Three bright lights, Red, Green, and Black, shot through the area, and then before the Dragon council stood three Dragoons. "For some reason, they work on some people but not on others," Syuveil said, searching his pouch for the rest of the stones. He pulled out the purple one, and then a bright flash of purple scattered throughout the mountains. Zieg turned his head just in time as he shouted out, "Another one!" The flash ended. "Syu, bring it around to everybody and hold it near their chest." Syuveil went over to Cordis and held it out. Nothing. Then the rest of the Dragons. Nothing. Then he went to the fallen man. He felt the stone sucked out of his hand, and embed itself into the man's chest. "What is your name?" Syu asked with a smile on his face.
"Kanzas," the man replied. "Welcome to the team." "What? I was headed to the castle, not with you guys." "Kanzas. I am the Dragon King," Cordis spoke up. "You will come with us if you can harness this power." "Fine. Then come with me humans, I have weapons back at my cave I can give you," Kanzas offered. And with that, my Legend begins.