The elemental guardians

Chapter one

As Eli, Minx, Sam, and Kenti were traveling through the dense misty forest the odor of rotting flesh filled the Hot Air.

As they walked deeper into the tall rotting trees they discovered a most nauseating smell.

Ugh. What's that dreadful smell?" Eli asked. "It smells like rotting flesh."

"Hey Eli," yelled Minx from across the Forrest. "I think I may have found our problem."

There was a body, (witch looked like a horse) decaying on the forest floor. It, or its killer, had left a trail of blood that the four companions followed to a clearing in the trees.

They watched warily from behind the trunk of a tall broad tree, for any sine of the creature, or creatures, which had slaughtered the thing that was now rotting behind them.

As soon as he saw the creatures, four dragons, Eli shouted recklessly, "all right Minx lets slaughter these demons one by one." As he threw himself at the

Dragons brandishing his dagger a wind came out of no ware and threw him back against his companions and away from the quartet of confused dragons.

"What! I think that that cursed dragon just pushed me away," Said Eli.

"What dragon? None of them moved."

"The one that flapped its wings, it was looking at me!"

"You are crazy!"

Surprisingly

"Hey! Look! It's a crystal ball!" Exclaimed Sam, staring at it in wonder. "It's glowing," he added as he moved forward as if in a trance.

Suddenly all was quiet. Not even the birds and insect's that could be herd in a normal forest made a sound. There was something in the air, a feeling or a power the fore companions couldn't tell.

Suddenly out of the silence a voice rang out, "Humans."

The four teenagers remained silent with fear.

"You stand now before the powers of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. We have called you all hear to help us. We knead riders for these, are friends that they may go out into the world and aid humankind in the upcoming war against the tides of darkness."

Another voice, equally loud and equally powerful, rang threw the now still forest, "We have summoned you four to protect the middle-earth, the human world, from those who would do it harm.

The first voice rang threw the forest again saying, "Choose a dragon, wisely. Your choices will determine both your destinies and that of the entire human race."

"How will we determine witch creature will be our personal dragon?" Sam asked bravely.

The second voice answered this time. "They will choose, though it is up to you to except there choices. Remember, the fate of worlds depends on you all making the rite choices."

"How are we to know if we made the right choices? Witch dragon is what element?" but there was no answer, the force that had filled the crystal ball had left them. The forest had returned to its normal soft buzzing and the humans stood silently staring at the four large draconic forms standing in front of them.

The four young friends stood together. They were uncertain about the dragons; could the strange creatures be trusted? Who did the voices really belong to? Were they going insane, to hear voices from no ware was not normal.

Suddenly one of the dragons moved away from the others and flapped its wings impatiently at the four humans. This dragon had green scales, though there were swirls of blue on its neck, wings, and flanks. The scales on its legs, and stomach were a very dark green. The creatures light green eyes, though lighter then its body scales, matched it perfectly. It was smallish though it looked like it could carry a young human on its back. It reminded the friends of water, the blue and green flowed together looking like waves. This dragon was the smallest of the four and had the largest wings.

"Hey," said Minx," I think it wants me to ride it."

"No," said Kenti, his cloak billowing around him in the warm air. "We don't know if they are what the voices said they are. We don't know if we can trust the voices." His unspoken word's were also clear 'we don't know if we are going completely insane or not.'

"Well, I want to ride the dragon! It wants me to ride it," minx protested. "It is looking at me!"

"I told you," Kenti said warningly. "They might not be---."

Sam interrupted his friend, "it may be that they are unsafe but we can't be shore either way unless we approach them. They may attack us but if what the voices said was true then we have nothing to fear or lose. If we trust in what we were told we would have everything to gain."

Eli laughed, "Of coarse you would say that! Of coarse you would stand with him."

Sam walked slowly over to a bronze dragon with leaf green eyes and brown wings. It had its neck stretched out as if it was reaching for someone and Sam felt a pull on his spirit. When he reached the dragon it nuzzled him toward its side. Sam started to scratch the creature's neck and it made a sound like a sigh, it sounded contented.

"See, they are harmless," he said leaning against his dragon.

Eli looked over and when he noticed that Sam hadn't been harmed by the dragon he walked closer to them. "Which of you are for me? Which of you want to claim me?"

A pure white dragon stepped forward slowly. It held its head high and its wings were spread to there fullest, as if the creature were showing off.

Eli reached over to it and started rubbing the white scales on the back of its neck. "I didn't know there were so many shades of white."

Minks ran eagerly toward the green dragon but it ignored his attempts to approach it. It walked past him and went for Kenti.

The only dragon that hadn't clamed someone was large and red. It had red scales and orange swirls. Its neck, wings, and flanks were pattern with orange and yellow scales. The patterning gave the elusion of fire, controlled but ready to brake free at the slightest hint of danger.

Minx would have preferred the green dragon but he liked the red one and was quite satisfied with the way things had turned out after all.