Chapter 1
"Professor Foxx, tell me something about dragons." A monk, in his upper thirties wearing a whit hooded robe and brown leather sandals sat under a willow tree in the courtyard of a giant stone castle with dark cast-iron gates at the entrance. A city surrounded the castle then thinned out into farmland.
"What do you wish to know Arnon?" The old historian in his violet velvet robe with a gold trim, tugged at a leaf on the willow tree. Bright and colorful flowers gave the courtyard a cheery glow.
"Anything, just tell me something." Arnon gazed at the historian and smiled.
"Well, first off, dragons live in labyrinths in the mountains and are now scarcely seen."
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Light blue lit the sky to the east. A young elf girl looked up at the stars, said something, and then stared at the cave straight ahead. Dark brown hair, three inches below her shoulders was crimped. (Very small waves) Her blue eyes glared at the entrance. What seemed to like a brown leather bra held her bosom high like a corset, a tight stomach exposed. She wore a short skirt of torn brown cloth, and knee high brown leather boots. Matching leather bands covered her lower arms, and a strange symbol was tattooed on her left arm, another on her right shoulder, above her left eyebrow, and on her left thigh. A cape of animal skins protected her from the blistering mountain winds. A large chestnut horse was tied to a dead tree, and a grey wolf lay beside it. A harpies eagle perched itself upon a tree branch. It let out a cry and the elf shushed it as she entered the cave.
The labyrinth was like a maze and large enough for a dragon to walk through it. That's exactly what she was looking for. She dug marks into the walls so she wouldn't get lost. She came across the dragon sooner than she thought. The area was open and large. A path lead to the center where a large piece of earth floated above boiling magma. There lay the dragon himself. He had two large horns on his slender head and spines all down his back. Yellow eyes seemed to glow with life. His brendel colored scales reflected the light of the magma and blended with the earth. He stood from his slumber and stared at the warrior. She drew her sword from the sheath at her left hip.
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"You can kill a dragon any way you can think of. Burn it, pierce its scales with a lance. But the dragon king…well, you can only kill him by thrusting your sword under his scales and into his heart." The historian went on fiddling with the leaf.
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The elf's sword was thin enough to slip through a pair of ribs yet tough enough to pierce a dragon's scale. She let out a war cry and ran at the dragon, dodging its attack as his tail flew at her. The dragon opened its mouth and fire appeared. The ball of flames sped for the young elf. She held out her left hand, the fire stopped, and then struck the dragon. Its scream echoed off the labyrinth walls, but did nothing to cause the elf to flinch. She smiled.
"I am the element fire! Your fire cannot hurt me, for I control it…and you!" She ran up with another war cry, this time she forced her sword up and under the scale on the dragon's chest, and through its heart. One last scream and the dragon king fell to the ground.
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"…If you bathe in a dragon's blood, your skin becomes impenetrable. You gain the spirit of that dragon therefore you become a dragon knight. You can summon the powers of that dragon in battle."
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The elf took off all her clothes and stood under the blood that seeped out of the dragon's limp body like a waterfall. Every part of her body was covered in it.
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"If you bathe in the dragon king's blood…you become the new ruler of dragons. You're virtually invincible.
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The elf emerged from the cave just as the sun had risen on the eastern horizon. Her wolf walked up to her and licked the blood of her hands. Seeing a spring nearby, the elf dropped her things on the ground, letting out a gasp as she dipped in the ice-cold water. She cleansed her body of the blood, then came back and got dressed. Mounting her horse, she rode to the northeast with her wolf and eagle following behind.
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"Well that's all for now," The old historian stood up with a groan. Arnon joined him. A messenger ran up to them.
"Brother Arnon,"
"Tis I," Arnon replied.
"The Elvin king wishes to summon you. It is urgent. Gaia is being threatened."
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"I have the power of a dragon!" A bald man in his thirties wearing a black robe laughed evilly. His dark eyes full of hatred. Creatures that looked like undead humans with scarce hair, skeleton noses, and black decaying skin, walked about the castle of black stone. The man sat on a black throne with a black staff in hand. A sculpture of a black snake-like dragon crawled up the top with stretched-out wings and ruby eyes.
"Sir, if you can find and slay the dragon king, you will rule dragons as well as us orcs." One of the creatures said, his voice was raspy.
"True, but I am the only being on earth who has conquered a dragon. Besides… I have an even better idea." He laughed again.
"What is that m'lord?" The orc asked hesitantly.
"I am going to rule Gaia! That is the greatest thing of all! Even greater that the dragon king himself." He laughed harder.
"Gaia? The spirit of the earth? Controller of all elements?"
"Yes you fool!" The man snapped. He stood up and the orc winced as though the man was about to hit him. But he didn't. He walked to the window overlooking dead plains.
"Even the beings with the gift of the elements cannot destroy me! For I will be the strongest warlock in history!" He laughs again as lightening strikes and thunder rumbles in the dark sky. He had no idea…yet…that an elf was spying on him.
