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Chapter One.

(15 years later)

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'Speaking in Dragon'

"Speaking in English"

Thoughts

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A small beam of sunlight flooded through the small, rectangular window and fell on the pale face of a 15 year old teen as he stood in front of a trunk of strange, curved swords. It was hard to think that this was the same child found many years ago amongst ruins by a woman. His face bore a blue, thin triangle that extended from beneath one of his eyes to about halfway down his cheek, two emerald coloured diagonal lines which extended from a little way beneath his other eye to a few millimetres from his eyebrow, on his other cheek was a blue curved triangle which diagonally followed his jaw line and the strangest of his marks had also remained, but that was concealed behind his fringe. The boy's hair was no longer pure white as it had been those years ago but a dark brown. The colour of his face had not changed over the years nor would it ever no matter how much sunlight beat down upon him he would always be strangely pale, even for a Dragon he was pale, his skin was leathery and slightly scaly where the markings were but that was considered normal. His eyes also remained the same, bright sapphire, something that amongst Dragons was rare.

He was very tall and lean. Some would describe him as wiry, his dark brown hair was longish and fell in his eyes. He was wearing brown leather pants and a top of the same colour and material and a thick brown trench coat which came to his ankles. On his feet were boots in a lighter shade of brown made from Dragon hide with thick dark brown straps wrapped around them in a criss-cross fashion. Around each arm was a brown leather wrist guard which was also brown that extended just below his elbow, covering the sleeves of his trench coat and tightened with thin fawn coloured strips of leather that criss-crossed neatly through tiny holes in the material. He was also wearing earrings, five small hoop ones in one ear gradually getting higher up (A/N: Y'know like those people who have multiple piercings in their ears) and a largish dragon fang which dangled from silver in the other.

He brushed his dark hair from his eyes once again before pulling a sword from the trunk that was different to the others. The handle was metal – silver probably – and wrapped around it was a thick strip of brown leather. The blade was a strange shape. It started off straight but then the bottom became jagged until it finally curved inwards then outwards into a point.

There was a feint tap on the thick wooden door before a woman pushed it open. She had sleek, black hair and kind emerald eyes which betrayed her youthful looks, for all a half-breed had to do was look into your eyes and they could see the age within their depths 'You should hurry Seto, you do not wish to make your teacher angry. Again' she said, her tone was kind like her eyes and relaxed.

'I wont be late' he answered calmly

She smiled 'You say that all the time, yet you are always late' she said.

Seto sighed 'It doesn't matter. Takashi would wait a thousand years just to see me administer one stroke with the worst of blade' he said whilst picking up a brown belt from his bed and putting it on then tightening it around the sword.

'Your over-inflated ego and bragging will be the end of you Seto' Akara joked fondly 'You should put that in a sheathe' she added sternly 'You do not want your little brother to hurt himself when he hugs you, which you know he will'

He rolled his eyes 'It doesn't have one' he answered 'You know it doesn't'

Akara laughed lightly 'I know, you have told me many times. Just be careful with it' she said.

The heavy wooden door creaked a little as a ten year old boy with long, bushy black hair and soft grey eyes entered the room, his face bore a red stripe which went right across in a straight line and over part of his nose, a largish purple dot beneath his right eye and a triangular shape which was set at a diagonal from his jaw bone, across his left cheek about a few millimetres away from the perfectly straight red marking, like the brunette the skin which bore the markings was leathery and scaly. Little Mokuba was not Seto's real brother as Akara was his real mother unlike the brunette who had been recovered from the ruins of a massacre about fifteen years ago 'Good morning big brother' he greeted happily whilst hugging his brother tightly, he was wearing clothes made from light brown cotton which were rather plain.

Seto ruffled the child's hair and grinned 'Morning' he answered.

Mokuba's innocent eyes travelled down to the sword at Seto's side and widened in interest 'Whoa, I've never seen that one before' he reached out to touch it.

'I should think so as well' Akara said sternly whilst gently knocking his hand away 'Seto I want you to lock up all your weapons before you leave, I don't want Mokuba to get hurt'

Seto rolled his eyes again 'I know, you have pestered me about that at least twenty times this week. I have to go before I'm so late that even Takashi gets annoyed at me'

Mokuba grinned 'I'll see you later Seto' he said happily as his 'brother' left the room.

'Bye Seto!' Akara shouted after him.

~***~

The lands of the Dragon-Kind had barely changed at all, almost as though time had not passed at all. The inhabitants had not aged and those who had hadn't aged much for the Dragons inherited partial immortality from the Pure-Dragons, they aged normally until they were about 18 and then they stopped, only aging once every thousand years or so. Tall, snow-capped mountains surrounded a deep valley, hidden within the ever present mist. Deep into the valley was a large village of thick stone houses and large grassy plains. Trees grew upon the grassy hills that connected with the mountains. But although the land hadn't changed over the years the actual village had.

As Men moved across the land more and more had come to the Valley seeking a home and refuge. Some were just children who had journeyed far on their own as their parent's, whether Pure-Dragon or Dragon, had been killed, others were women on their own or whole families. Life in the Valley was peaceful as it was hidden and well protected but most feared that danger loomed just around the corner, in each of their hearts they knew this calm, this security would not last forever. Human-Kind was intent upon taking all the land and gold for themselves and eventually they would accomplish that if not stopped.

But it seemed that very few wanted to accept this harsh reality.

One of the plains had been reserved as usual as a training ground for the teenagers who wanted to become skilled fighters

Most did not have the spirit nor the talent to do so as the warriors fought with a fine art of accuracy and talent but there were a few who did and it were these who were trained in the art of weapons and finally flight of a Pure-Dragon who was usually their assigned guardian and protector with whom the chosen fighter bonded with in a ritual.

A well built man surveyed his class for a moment before beginning, now I shall not go through what he said for it would be very long, boring and complicated. After his little speech – which was really not that little as it had lasted half an hour at least – he demonstrated the move he had been talking about and told them to get into pairs and prepare to duel and everyone complied and found a partner except two. Seto and his friend Otoji who was 18. Their trainer stared at them for a moment "Did I not just say get into pairs?" he questioned, his tone sounded angrily.

'Yes but . . .' Otoji began whilst brushing black bangs from his emerald eyes, like Seto he was quite tall (though his height did not match Seto's 6'2ft) he had long black hair which he usually tied back in a lose pony tail and a similar triangle marking extending from his eye to halfway down his cheek coloured black and two black, straight lines beneath his other eye. He wasn't as thin as Seto, but nevertheless he was slender.

'But what?' their teacher demanded. The other class members were staring at him.

Otoji glanced at his friend 'Seto's too good for me' he said. This caused laughter amongst the class as it tended to be humiliating for an 18 year old to admit that a 15 year old was better than him 'I don't like fighting him if I can help it, I lose too easily against him'

Seto rolled his eyes but grinned all the same, what his friend was saying was true, for some reason unknown to him he had much faster reflexes, keener eyesight and smoother movements than any of the other students. Otoji reckoned it was because of his blue eyes as he had heard that Dragons born with such eyes were mysterious and somehow different from the others. Seto hadn't been too sure and had scoffed the idea saying it was just superstition and stated instead that he must have been born to weald a sword in battle.

But you couldn't deny that there was something strange about him, once about two years ago a group of men had somehow discovered where the Valley was and had ambushed it. The brunette had basically been in the wrong place in the wrong time for he was brutally attacked. Despite his quick movements to get away he had a sword slashed deeply down his arm. The strange thing was he didn't cry out in pain, sure he had winced but he had not made any sound indicating that it had hurt, not only that but it had taken no more than a day to heal only leaving a scar.

Most would have said he was a Demon trying to impersonate a Dragon if he didn't have blue eyes. For blue eyes came with a myth, the biggest myth of the Dragon-Kind.

Except it was more of a prophecy than a myth.

~***~

A large map was slammed onto the table by a 17 year old with sandy blond hair, he was slender and had sharp lilac eyes, he was known as Marik (Or Malik if that's what you want to call him) and was considered one of the best fighters since the big massacre fifteen years ago and in reality he was much older than he looked, over 3000 years or so. He pointed to an area circled in red with a slender, tanned finger "There is our target" he said fiercely "The only place where Dragons still live in this country, the Valley, it is surrounded by mountains and hidden within mist and many Dragons look over the village there from the mountains. Of all the Dragon villages, this will be the hardest to destroy"

Some exchanged nervous glances, a man in his mid-thirties glanced at the map with a scowl on his face "We could be walking into a trap for all we know, Pure-Dragons hiding on the mountain range keeping watch on the perimeter around the Valley?! It would be pure madness to try and attack when so few of us are actually fit to fight" he snarled "Or have you forgotten that those slime are not affected by age and injury as we are?"

"Drake should know" said another whilst folding his arms "His wife was one of those scum, as soon as he noticed she wasn't aging as she should have been he knew, they are filthy creatures who should bow to us and serve as our slaves not roam free!" he declared.

Another man spoke up "They are tricky, they are sneaky. What makes you think their spies do not travel amongst us Marik, I assure you walking right into the Valley would be like writing our own death sentences" you could tell that the Human-race was generally not very smart, how they could miss a deathly pale, youthful looking person with strange coloured markings on their face is beyond understanding.

Marik glared at each of them "My sister was murdered by one of those scaly beasts, they have lived free for too long, it is time to have my vengeance!" he hissed "If you wish to be cowardly then that is fine, but do not forget the pain a Dragon, be it Pure or not has unleashed upon you, upon all of us!" he looked around the small group "We attack tonight!"

~***~

Seto walked back down to a set of small fields behind the village, close to the mountains in the darkness. The long grass brushed against him as he walked. He was careful not to make a sound for if someone caught him sneaking out again he was really going to get in trouble off Akara. She never did like him going out of the village let alone at night.

The brunette however did like strolling around the outskirts of the village after dark, it was always quiet and peaceful. When he was restless and couldn't sleep he would often climb out the window and just walk around near the mountains for a few hours. Despite the villagers views about him sneaking out they would be grateful he did tonight.

Seto sat beside the lake and stared out towards the horizon at the surface of the clear water which reflected the moons silvery glow. He wasn't big on views or anything like that but this place calmed him whenever he was restless, like tonight.

He must have been there for about two hours when he heard the first explosion. By then he was lying on his back staring at the night sky as the water had begun to bore him, he didn't think much of it at first as there were often small explosions in the mountains because of tiny volcanoes, however a second, much louder rumble caught his attention, the whole ground shook and black smoke rose from the mountains. Getting to his feet he silently moved towards the rocky cliff which made up part of the smaller mountain. He moved back a little when he heard someone coughing.

"Damn Marik" Drake choked "Makin' us come all the way down here at night"

"He's a bloody idiot" said a second "All this noise is sure to wake those damn Dragons before we can even slaughter any of them"

"Notice how he ain't even here" said another man "Always has us doin' his dirty work"

"Quiet" Drake scolded "I think I hear something"

"Like what?" a fourth man questioned.

"I dunno, could be one of them spyin' on us" Drake answered "Those slime are crafty buggers, they sneak up on a guy and WHAM!" the others flinched as Drake made a violent gesture with his hands "Next thing ya know you've got a sword stickin' outta ya back. Course dem damn Hybrids are da worse, dey can sneak up on a guy without makin' a sound . . . dey look harmless, blend in with you and me they do, don't look no different from us 'cept those freaky markings they have, which dey can say are tattoos 'n' get away with it, innocent like y'know? But really behind all dat they are gettin' ready to slit yeh throat with their claws at any moment!"

There was an annoyed sigh "Look, all of you shaddup and help me with this friggin dynamite, that damn village won't blow up itself" someone snarled.

Seto backed away, his first instinct was to change into his Hybrid side and rush over there and decapitate everyone in sight just with his claws but he had no idea how many there really were, his logical side soon took over and told him to run and warn everyone else for it was a fact that against many Humans a lone Dragon, especially one of 15 years wouldn't stand a chance.

Turning sharply the brunette ran back towards the village just as another blast shook the ground. He could see lights appearing in the windows as people had been woken by the noise.

~***~

Mokuba snapped awake as he felt his bedroom tremble, he laid there for a moment unsure of what he should do. It couldn't be an earthquake because they didn't get them in the Valley. He decided to go and see if Seto knew what had caused it and climbed out of bed.

Quietly he crossed the landing to Seto's room where he knocked softly on the door, after getting no answer he pushed it open, he wasn't worried. Seto could be a very deep sleeper at times, in fact sometimes just to wake him up either he or Akara had to tip a glass of water over his head, and even then he wouldn't always wake up.

The room was very dark and Mokuba could hardly see a thing, he groped around blindly for the light switch and smiled to himself when he found it. After flicking it on his eyes widened. Seto wasn't there, of course he knew where the brunette had gone, but he had picked a very bad time to go out for a midnight stroll, in once sense Mokuba didn't want to get him into trouble but in another he was scared. The scared part won so he chose plan B, he left Seto's room and opened the door to his mother's.

'Mom?'

Someone shifted in the darkness and turned on the light 'What is it Mokuba?' Akara asked sleepily.

'Just a few minutes ago my room was shaking and there was a loud noise outside' the ten year old answered quietly.

Akara smiled at him a little 'You probably dreamt it. Go and ask Seto if he heard anything'

Mokuba's eyes looked worried 'He's not there' he said quietly

She sat up 'What?'

'I was gonna ask big brother if he had heard it too but he's not there' said Mokuba.

Akara climbed out of her bed and took Mokuba's hand. Just as the two left their room there was another loud bang and the whole house shook. Mokuba clung to her and started to tremble 'What's happening?' he asked 'Where is Seto?'

His mother looked worried 'I don't know the answer to either question Mokuba' she said sadly 'Come on, let's go look for him'

~***~

Seto vaulted over the wall that separated the village from the rest of the Valley as he always did since he could never be bothered with going around and using the entrance, now wasn't the time for that anyway. There were many people in the cobbled streets all wondering what the hell was going on.

The brunette scanned over them and noticed they all had the same fearful expression on their faces except the children who also looked rather excited, as he looked around for someone who could actually help their situation he felt something cling to his waist. He looked down and spotted Mokuba with his arms wrapped tightly around him. Akara came up to him.

'What have I told you about sneaking out at night!' she scolded 'We were worried'

'Where is Takashi?' Seto asked quickly 'I need to talk to him . . . there are Humans in the mountains'

At once all the confused chatter died and everyone looked at Seto, some held fear in their eyes.

'What?' Akara questioned, unsure of whether she had heard him right. There had never been any traces of Humans being in the mountain area before, except that one time where a small group of them had attempted an ambush, and had gotten slaughtered.

Seto spoke as clearly as he could despite being rather out of breath 'There are Humans . . . in the mountains . . . I heard them talking'

Someone screamed and several children who were old enough to know about the threat of Humans cried and clung to their mothers.

Takashi approached the brunette 'What did they say?' he asked.

'I don't know for certain, they were mostly complaining but they mentioned some stuff called er . . . dynamite, whatever the hell that is and killing everyone in sight' Seto replied, slowing his breathing to normal rate again.

Everyone except Akara and Takashi exchanged confused glances, as they lived secluded from Humans none of the Pure-Dragons nor Dragons (A/N: Those with a Human appearance and certain qualities of the Pure-Dragon such as prolonged life and sharper hearing) knew what dynamite was other than Akara because she had travelled with a Human and seen him use it, when she had arrived at the village she had told Takashi about it since he was the leader and tutor of the fighters and had needed to know what their enemy was truly capable of, however she had neglected to teach Seto what the stuff was because as a child he had been terribly inquisitive and even now he still was. It would have been dangerous to tell him about something that could do so much damage for he would have certainly tried to get his hands on some.

'How many were there?' Takashi questioned.

'I don't know, I heard at least five different voices though. They kept talking about someone' Seto answered.

'Who?'

'Someone called Marik' Seto replied.

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Jaffacake11679: Thank you so much if you bared with me through that very confusing chapter, I know there was a lot of Pure-Dragon and Dragon and other such all over the place and I am so sorry if that was confusing, hell looking back at it now I find it confusing, and I wrote the damn thing.

I would like to thank you for the reviews, you kind, kind people! And as long as I am not struck down with writers block, and people continue to review I'll keep updating, even if I only get 1 review per chapter I'll still update.

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