The grass stirred in the wind, flowing back and forth. The atmosphere was
peaceful, quiet. Everything was undisturbed. That is, until it happened.
A giant spider leapt from the shadows, sending broken pieces of wood and debris everywhere. Illarion patted the spider's head, telling it to stop. The spider skidded to a halt, sending a cloud of dust up and over the plain grass. Fiora shielded her eyes from the sun. "Are you sure this is where they came down?" she said, looking over the rippling grass. "Positive," Vijayendra leapt off the back of the spider. His armor clanked together as he landed. "My eyes never fail me."
Kelevandros smiled. "You know there was that one time-" "Oh shut up!" Vijayendra interrupted. He looked towards the sun, hoping to find the draconians' landing place. "There! I see it!" he started to run. "Wait Vijayendra!"
Kelevandros struggled to get off the spider, but discovered if you tap the spider's leg above the third joint; it slants downward, forming a slide.
He plucked the furball off his arm and tossed the Elven driver his kit. The roar was what directed them all in the direction of Vijayendra's dash. A flying creature blocked out the sun, revealing a shabby looking village placed roughly in the middle of the plain. But of course Kelevandros didn't see the village, for he was to busy looking at the dragon.
"Brother, come back!" he yelled to the silver spec on the vast sea of grass. Vijayendra ignored his brother's call, and thought of only one thing. Katula...
Katula looked at the dragon's pupil. The glowing red pupil. It was the color of fresh blood, surrounded by blackness she has never seen before. A blackness that sucked you dry, and replaced your empty body, with a chill that will not go away. A chill that will haunt you for the rest of your days.
Katula stared into the dragon's eye, completely drawn to it, or hypnotized, one of the two. Her body was sweating, even though it felt frozen. Her hair clotted with her sweat, making her head itch. But nothing mattered, just that big gaping eye. Her ears were the only things that worked. She heard the dragon open its mouth. She heard the stretch of its saliva, as it dropped to the ground in a thick, heavy glob of spit. The sound of its muscles tightening, the sound of a hallow echoing of a digestive system. The sound of her breath resounding off its tongue.
The eye suddenly became its throat. Her mind snapped back into action, but it was too late. She remembered though, yet another sound. A sound of a voice. A voice calling her. A voice beckoning her. A voice that grew faint, as the blackness became strong.
Kelevandros shook his head. He will surely perish if I don't do something! The elf was panicking. If he went running after his brother, he would meet the same fate as Vijayendra. But if he stayed and watched, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Kelevandros clenched his fists. His knuckles turned white, and his feet sunk deeper into the grass.
FLASH!
His father looked down at him over his cradle's edge and smiled. " Kelevandros, my son, I am honored to have you become the Prince of Drakes. I am proud of you, and know you will do great things when you come of age..."
FLASH!
Kelevandros swung his wooden sword and struck the dummy. Hay and straw exploded and stuck to his clothes and hair. His mother said he looked like a living scarecrow, but his father said he looked like a man. After bathing in the river, his father came up to him and pulled out his wooden sword. "You think you can take me on?" Kelevandros smiled. "You bet!" His father chuckled at the elf's enthusiasm. "Just don't tell you mother okay?"
FLASH!
The elf scrambled to his feet. His father stood straight up and sheathed his sword. Kelevandros had just been attacked by a wild boar. His father heard his cries for help and slaughtered the pig before its tusks struck home on Kelevandros's back. "I want to grow up and be just like you!" he said...
FLASH!
The spiders burst through his doorway and into his room. Kelevandros picked his wooden sword up off its rack and swung it into the spider's head. The arachnid flipped and smacked into the wall dead. Kelevandros ran outside and saw utter chaos. Homes were on fire; elves were fighting, and bodies of spiders' lay everywhere. He stared at the battlefield where two elves used their drake magic to defeat a group of spiders. His family was nowhere to be found.
Before he knew it, a spider was right behind him, the leader. It was ten times the size of the regular sized spiders. His father came out of nowhere, and pushed him to the side. The spider's fangs sunk deep into the drake's leg, the venom immediately taking effect.
His father pulled out his real sword and manages to slice out one of the spider's main eyes. It retched with pain, and knocked the elf to the side. Kelevandros dashed to his father's side. "FATHER! FATHER!" he felt his father's pulse, but it had stopped. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He felt hands on his shoulders pulling him away. His mother...
FLASH!
His mother lay in bed, dying from a disease. His brother, Vijayendra weeping at his side. A royal guard took him outside by his mother's request. Now he was alone with his mother. She looked at him straight in the eye. "Please take care of him for me..." she croaked. Kelevandros knelt by her bedside. "I will, I promise...."
FLASH!
He had taken care of his little brother, ever since. He had trained him in the art of a spear, he had watched him transform into a drake for the first time ever, he had saved him from many evil creatures over the years, he had watched him mature and become a man, he had been a big brother...
Kelevandros relaxed. I have been a big brother. I am a big brother. Why stop now? If I must die, then I will die as a warrior, like my father before me. The elf looked at the hardship before him and smirked...
The trio dashed through the grass. Have to get away! Have to get away! Laurei panted. Gnimish huffed and puffed behind Beow, his cane clanking with every step. Beow peeked behind him and saw the dragon standing in the center of the village. He slowed, then stopped. This was not a smart idea. Gnimish smacked into his back with a small squeak.
"Hey! Wait for a second!" Beow called out, ignoring his fallen comrade. Laurei turned to look behind her and stopped. "What are you doing?! We need to get far away from the village as we can! He cannot find us!" Beow pointed a thumb back towards the village. "I think he found, what he was looking for." Laurei examined the dragon's movements. It was standing all right, but what has it found? Gnimish shrieked and pointed a finger to the sky. Another dragon decided to join the party.
A giant spider leapt from the shadows, sending broken pieces of wood and debris everywhere. Illarion patted the spider's head, telling it to stop. The spider skidded to a halt, sending a cloud of dust up and over the plain grass. Fiora shielded her eyes from the sun. "Are you sure this is where they came down?" she said, looking over the rippling grass. "Positive," Vijayendra leapt off the back of the spider. His armor clanked together as he landed. "My eyes never fail me."
Kelevandros smiled. "You know there was that one time-" "Oh shut up!" Vijayendra interrupted. He looked towards the sun, hoping to find the draconians' landing place. "There! I see it!" he started to run. "Wait Vijayendra!"
Kelevandros struggled to get off the spider, but discovered if you tap the spider's leg above the third joint; it slants downward, forming a slide.
He plucked the furball off his arm and tossed the Elven driver his kit. The roar was what directed them all in the direction of Vijayendra's dash. A flying creature blocked out the sun, revealing a shabby looking village placed roughly in the middle of the plain. But of course Kelevandros didn't see the village, for he was to busy looking at the dragon.
"Brother, come back!" he yelled to the silver spec on the vast sea of grass. Vijayendra ignored his brother's call, and thought of only one thing. Katula...
Katula looked at the dragon's pupil. The glowing red pupil. It was the color of fresh blood, surrounded by blackness she has never seen before. A blackness that sucked you dry, and replaced your empty body, with a chill that will not go away. A chill that will haunt you for the rest of your days.
Katula stared into the dragon's eye, completely drawn to it, or hypnotized, one of the two. Her body was sweating, even though it felt frozen. Her hair clotted with her sweat, making her head itch. But nothing mattered, just that big gaping eye. Her ears were the only things that worked. She heard the dragon open its mouth. She heard the stretch of its saliva, as it dropped to the ground in a thick, heavy glob of spit. The sound of its muscles tightening, the sound of a hallow echoing of a digestive system. The sound of her breath resounding off its tongue.
The eye suddenly became its throat. Her mind snapped back into action, but it was too late. She remembered though, yet another sound. A sound of a voice. A voice calling her. A voice beckoning her. A voice that grew faint, as the blackness became strong.
Kelevandros shook his head. He will surely perish if I don't do something! The elf was panicking. If he went running after his brother, he would meet the same fate as Vijayendra. But if he stayed and watched, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Kelevandros clenched his fists. His knuckles turned white, and his feet sunk deeper into the grass.
FLASH!
His father looked down at him over his cradle's edge and smiled. " Kelevandros, my son, I am honored to have you become the Prince of Drakes. I am proud of you, and know you will do great things when you come of age..."
FLASH!
Kelevandros swung his wooden sword and struck the dummy. Hay and straw exploded and stuck to his clothes and hair. His mother said he looked like a living scarecrow, but his father said he looked like a man. After bathing in the river, his father came up to him and pulled out his wooden sword. "You think you can take me on?" Kelevandros smiled. "You bet!" His father chuckled at the elf's enthusiasm. "Just don't tell you mother okay?"
FLASH!
The elf scrambled to his feet. His father stood straight up and sheathed his sword. Kelevandros had just been attacked by a wild boar. His father heard his cries for help and slaughtered the pig before its tusks struck home on Kelevandros's back. "I want to grow up and be just like you!" he said...
FLASH!
The spiders burst through his doorway and into his room. Kelevandros picked his wooden sword up off its rack and swung it into the spider's head. The arachnid flipped and smacked into the wall dead. Kelevandros ran outside and saw utter chaos. Homes were on fire; elves were fighting, and bodies of spiders' lay everywhere. He stared at the battlefield where two elves used their drake magic to defeat a group of spiders. His family was nowhere to be found.
Before he knew it, a spider was right behind him, the leader. It was ten times the size of the regular sized spiders. His father came out of nowhere, and pushed him to the side. The spider's fangs sunk deep into the drake's leg, the venom immediately taking effect.
His father pulled out his real sword and manages to slice out one of the spider's main eyes. It retched with pain, and knocked the elf to the side. Kelevandros dashed to his father's side. "FATHER! FATHER!" he felt his father's pulse, but it had stopped. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He felt hands on his shoulders pulling him away. His mother...
FLASH!
His mother lay in bed, dying from a disease. His brother, Vijayendra weeping at his side. A royal guard took him outside by his mother's request. Now he was alone with his mother. She looked at him straight in the eye. "Please take care of him for me..." she croaked. Kelevandros knelt by her bedside. "I will, I promise...."
FLASH!
He had taken care of his little brother, ever since. He had trained him in the art of a spear, he had watched him transform into a drake for the first time ever, he had saved him from many evil creatures over the years, he had watched him mature and become a man, he had been a big brother...
Kelevandros relaxed. I have been a big brother. I am a big brother. Why stop now? If I must die, then I will die as a warrior, like my father before me. The elf looked at the hardship before him and smirked...
The trio dashed through the grass. Have to get away! Have to get away! Laurei panted. Gnimish huffed and puffed behind Beow, his cane clanking with every step. Beow peeked behind him and saw the dragon standing in the center of the village. He slowed, then stopped. This was not a smart idea. Gnimish smacked into his back with a small squeak.
"Hey! Wait for a second!" Beow called out, ignoring his fallen comrade. Laurei turned to look behind her and stopped. "What are you doing?! We need to get far away from the village as we can! He cannot find us!" Beow pointed a thumb back towards the village. "I think he found, what he was looking for." Laurei examined the dragon's movements. It was standing all right, but what has it found? Gnimish shrieked and pointed a finger to the sky. Another dragon decided to join the party.
