Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter!
Happy Easter! (Belated or other, depending on your time zone). Easter is one of my favorite holidays, second only to Christmas)
Thousand Year's Worth of Knowledge
4/12/06 – 4/16/06
Harry…
It was black. Everything was black – no light, no color.
Wake up…
It hurt. It pained to move.
Harry Potter…
Was this hell – this cold and chilling void, devoid of all hope and light?
HARRY POTTER!
Harry's eyes flew wide open in shock, revealing bright, emerald-green eyes. He couldn't see anything, not even his own hand – everything was shrouded in pitch-black darkness. "Lumos," he whispered softly.
Nothing happened – everything was still shrouded in darkness.
His heart pounded in panic. "Aaron! Trey, are you there?" No one answered him. "Is anyone there?" he hollered into the darkness. "Crystal? Katherine?"
"Harry, don't fret." It was an order, but the tone was gently and soothing. "Your friends are not here with you, but their hopes will always rest on you."
"Who are you?" Harry demanded cautiously as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
The voice chuckled softly. "You've grown paranoid, Harry."
"Who are you?" Harry repeated bitingly.
"I'm a friend." he answered cryptically. Before Harry could retort, he smoothly added, "Now, are you going to listen to what I have to say or are you going to continue to fire meaningless questions at me?"
Harry paused for a moment, weighing his options, before finally answering, "I'll listen, but tell me where we are first."
"…In the realm of the spirits."
Lily paced frantically back and forth in front of the door she had just recently been ushered out of. Locked out of! They had barred her from her own son! What was the world coming to? Keeping a mother from her dying child?
She growled in frustration, barely resisting the urge to pull her red-hair from her head. She was supposed be the one in there! Treating his wounds and caring for his needs. Not those other…people! Harry was her child, not theirs! Harry needed her! Her baby needed her!
"Excuse me, but can you stop pacing?" asked an irritated, old woman.
Lily quickly whirled around and glared at the old couple and their solemn grandchildren. "What's it to you?" she snapped angrily, a deep frown marring her fair features.
"My grandson is in there," retorted the old woman, pointing the room behind Lily, "and is in a critical condition. I don't want you disturbing the healers with your incessant pacing."
Following the direction of the old lady's finger, Lily gasped in shock when she realized the old bat was pointing to the room where Harry was being treated. "Y-Your grandson?" stuttered Lily, aghast at the insinuation.
"Yes, my grandson." sneered the old woman.
"How much have you covered in DR History?"
"We're on the history of the Black Lake." Harry answered promptly, smiling softly at the memory of Trey sleeping through every history class.
"…"
"Is something wrong?" asked Harry, quirking an eyebrow.
"Never mind, forget I asked." the voice muttered, sounding oddly irritated. "Let's just start from the beginning of history with the first generation of Dragon Riders and go on from there."
Harry groaned softly and discreetly shook his head from side to side. "I'm familiar with the history of the G-1 Dragon Riders. We can just skip to…"
"But I doubt you've had a visual presentation, right?"
"Visual presentation?" repeated Harry, shooting the darkness a strange look.
"Rather than just explaining, why don't I show you first?"
Before Harry had a chance to ask him what he meant by "visual presentation", the darkness around him quickly faded into a picturesque, grassy plain. Everything from the lush grass beneath his feet to the exotic plants surrounding the plain seemed to radiate with life. "Where am I?" he whispered breathlessly as his eyes greedily drank in the beautiful scenery about him.
"Besides the world (universe) you live in, there are a total of six others." a gentle voice whispered near his ears. "What you see now is the Land of the Dragons, Dargon – the original home of the Dragon Riders."
"Land of the…Dragons?" asked Harry, scrunching his forehead in confusion. "What do you….?"
"Don't speak yet, just watch."
Harry stopped mid-question and fell silent, acquiescing to watch the scene unfold before asking more questions.
A long, but comfortable silence stretched between them as they waited patiently for the scene to unfurl before their eyes. They didn't have to wait long before a loud whoosh of air alerted them to a disturbance in the skies.
Harry, fully intrigued by the events thus far, quickly snapped his head up in hopes of catching a small glimpse of the disturbance. He wasn't disappointed. Massive beasts of impressive beauty, grace, and dignity circled the plains like avenging hawks, probing the land for unknown dangers and traps with their sharp eyes before finally deeming it safe to land.
"These are the treasured companions of the Dragon Riders." smiled the voice, radiating with righteous pride at the mention of these magnificent beasts. "These are the very Dragons that define the identity of the Rider."
"They look nothing like the dragons in the books…" Harry stretched his hand towards one of the Dragons longingly, but his fingers immediately swept through the image upon contact.
The voice chuckled again before whispering, "What you're seeing now isn't real – they are only memories passed down from generation to generation."
"Do these Dragons only exist here?" Harry asked curiously, eyes radiating with both longing and desire. "Can't they be found in my world?"
"As you've probably realized, the dragons of your world pale considerably in contrast to the magnificence of the Dragons of Dargon, the bonded friends and companions of the Dragon Riders. The dragons you see in your world can be found everywhere, but true Dragons exist only in Dargon."
Harry slowly meandered his way through the throng of Dragons, closely examining each one, before quietly asking, "How many different kinds of Dragons are there? From what I've seen so far, I'm sure there are at least two different species."
"There are four."
"Four?" Harry repeated disbelievingly. "I thought there would have been at least seven different species…" he softly murmured to himself.
"The most common Dragons are the Drakes, the "wingless brutes of foundation". They lack the magical prowess of their cousins, but their supernatural strength makes them formidable opponents and excellent domestic workers. The Drakes are the builders, the homemakers, and the frontier explorers.
"Then there are the Elemental Dragons, the guardians of nature and protectors of the weak. They can easily be classified into four different groups – fire, water, wind, and earth – by the color of their scales. The Elementals, although generally bonded to non-Riders, are a powerful species of Dragons that have complete mastery over their given element."
Harry's head snapped at the mention of non-Riders. "What do you mean by non-Riders?" Harry probed, creasing his forehead in confusion.
"Non-Riders are everyone else." The voice answered cryptically. "Before the Great War, non-Riders were the villagers – the family and friends of the Dragon Riders. But now, centuries after the Great War, the non-Riders are everyone who carries even an ounce of magical blood in their veins."
Harry narrowed his eyes and bitterly spat, "Then it includes the Potters."
"Yes, your parents and your brother are considered non-Riders…and if these Dragons had existed now, your family would have been bound to one of the Elemental Dragons."
Clenching his fist, Harry angrily shouted, "Then what's the point of electing Dragon Riders if just about anyone can be bound to Dragons? Doesn't it defeat the point?"
"No, it doesn't." the voice argued. "Dragon Riders, though related to non-Riders, are definitely in a league of their own. Dragon Riders are chosen every fifty years for their superior intelligence, power, and magical capability – if they were nothing special, there wouldn't be such a distinction between Riders and non-Riders."
"But…"
"It's the Dragons, isn't it?" the voice chuckled. "But if you understood the intricate nature of the bond between a Rider and his Dragon, you wouldn't be…jealous." The voice softly added, "It's unbecoming of a Rider to be jealous of such petty things, especially when they wield powers a non-Rider can only dream of having."
"Are you talking about wandless magic?" questioned Harry, looking torn between anger and embarrassment.
"Yes…and much more. If you had waited long enough for me to finish my explanation, then you would have known that the Royal and Heaven Dragons can only be bound to Dragon Riders."
"Why?"
The voice smiled. "The bond between a Rider and his Dragon is based on power. Non-Riders, regardless of how 'strong' they may be, can never match a true Rider in power…and that power is the difference between a Rider and Non-Rider." Then, in a slightly softer tone, the voice murmured, "And power is the main key to the Rider-Dragon bond…and it's a lack of that power that keeps a non-Rider from bonding with a Royal (or Heaven) Dragon.
"And I have a feeling you're going to ask me what is a Royal and Heaven Dragon next, right?" lilted the voice.
Harry gave a short nod of his head.
"Well, Royal Dragons are generally the ideal bonding partners of the Riders for a number of reasons. One is their supernatural speed and the other is their superior military and elemental power." The voice paused for a moment, as if to catch its breath, before continuing. "Then there are the Heaven Dragons, the sacred entities of Dargon. Though they are by far the strongest species, they are few (rare) in number. Only the leader of the G-1 Dragon Riders had the pleasure of bonding with one."
A few minutes passed in relative silence as Harry quietly stored the newfound knowledge about the Dragons into his memory.
"Harry, are you ready?"
Blinking slightly, Harry softly whispered, "Yes."
"Then I will continue on with my narration." conceded the voice. "As I've mentioned before, there are seven worlds altogether. These seven worlds existed in relative peace – none bothering the other…for a period of time. However, that peace slowly began to shatter after the initiation of the G-8 Dragon Riders.
"Peace between the Riders and the Demons were strained from the beginning, but when Kai, the leader of the G-8 Riders, accidentally killed the ambassador from the Land of the Demons during a sparring match….war broke out. Dargon was thrown into turmoil as the number of Dragons and Riders quickly depleted over the span of 673 years. This war quickly came to be known as the Great Dragon-Demon War."
Harry watched in open shock as the beautiful plain around him slowly shimmered into nonexistence, only to be immediately replaced by a bloody battlefield strewn with Dragon and Demon remains.
"The Great Dragon-Demon War was a terrible war. Nearly all the Dragons were annihilated and on a handful of Riders survived the ordeal." The voice sadly whispered. "The casualties just kept piling higher and higher each day…"
Swallowing the growing lump that was beginning to form in his throat, Harry quickly tore his eyes from the battlefield and softly asked, "Who won the war?"
"For the first 355 years, the Dragon Riders and Demons remained at a constant stalemate – neither giving ground to the other. But, after the untimely death of the Demon King Arastix, the Riders gained the upper hand. For 75 years, the Riders fought on with the hope that they'd win…but then Demon Prince Thomas Vladimir Ramsden took the throne…and the tides of the war changed.
"Thomas undoubtedly shared his father's penchant for cruelty, but he had a quiet intelligence about him that his father lacked. Whereas Arastix blindly sent his army into head-on battles, Thomas tactfully planned his confrontations. Thomas, unlike his late father, was charismatic, manipulative, and devilishly handsome. He proudly used those attributes to rally all the Demons of Hellania to his command."
"This was a real World War, wasn't it?" Harry asked softly, choking back a sob. "I mean, an actual World War that pitted one world against the other. Not the supposed 'world wars' from muggle history that involved several large countries…"
"Yes, you're right." The voice answered tiredly. "This was a war that pitted everyone residing in Dargon (world of the Dragons) against the residents of Hellania (world of the Demons). It was a World War that affected everyone…and ended with the 'demise' of Dargon."
"What do you mean 'demise'?" demanded Harry, curling his hands. "Did the Demons annihilate Dargon?"
"It'll be explained in time," promised the voice as the image around them shimmered again, changing the scene to show the final confrontation between Thomas and Kai in the Forbidden Glade of Dargon…240 years after Thomas took the throne.
Harry watched silently as the scene slowly unraveled before him…
"You've lost, Kai. Your pathetic Dragons are no match for the army of Hell." Thomas whispered dangerous, his emerald-green eyes flashing with a cruel glint. "Humans are gullible…so trusting…"
"What are you talking about, you demon scum?" spat Kai, clenching his fists. "You may have more warriors under your command than I do, but how many of them can you honestly say are loyal to you? Your minions obey you out of fear, but my friends would gladly lay down their lives for me because they are loyal to me!"
Thomas gave a mirthless laugh as he brushed his dark hair out of his face. "Do you know what universal, physical feature defines every demon's heritage?" he asked, an arrogant sneer playing at the edge of his lips. "Did you know that a demon's heritage is always reflected in his appearance?" Gently raking his long fingers through his hair, which was naturally highlighted by forest-green streaks, he softly whispered, "A demon's heritage can never be hidden or masked." Allowing a moment for the information to sink into Kai's mind, he added with a sadistic grin, "My element is earth."
Harry's eyes widened in apprehension as his attention quickly swiveled to the Dragon Riders standing behind Kai. Two individuals stood out immediately in the mass of Riders – one was a pretty girl with ocean-blue highlights and the other was a handsome boy with ruby-red highlights.
"Alexandria?" whispered Kai, looking horribly betrayed. "Harold?" He paused a moment to reign in his emotions before softly pleaded, "Tell me it's not true. Tell me that scum is lying to me! You wouldn't betray me! You're my best friends!"
Harold gave him a sad smile and murmured, "You would have made a great demon."
Kai's heart shattered with Harold's cold statement. He turned heartbroken eyes towards Alexandria and silently pleaded for her to scream, "Just kidding!"
Alexandria didn't meet his gaze as she looked past him to lock eyes with Thomas. "If circumstances were different, I might have fallen in love with you. If my heritage had been different…But the truth remains that I am a demon – in life and in death."
Taking this as his cue to completely break Kai's spirit, Thomas coldly stated, "This shows basic human stupidity. If you had bothered to study Demon History, then you would have known…But your race, blinded by prejudice, refused to study anything even remotely related to Demon Heritage…Your ignorance was your downfall."
"Who are you?" Kai asked brokenly, his throat constricting with pain. "Who are you?" he repeated, glaring at Harold and Alexandria.
"Your best friend, Harold, is the same demon who killed your family. He is better known as Lord Harold Orion Sinclair…my cousin." Thomas, smiling cruelly, seemed to derive sadistic pleasure from the look of pure terror on Kai's face. "…And your beloved Alexandria is Lady Alexandria Safire Galathea…my fiancée."
The image froze in motion as the scene slowly faded into the background.
A pregnant silence followed, neither wanting to break the silence.
Finally, swallowing the growing lump in his throat, Harry asked, "What happened afterwards?"
The voice didn't answered immediately, but it finally replied, "Only three Dragon Riders escaped from that confrontation alive (but not unscathed) – Kai was one of them." Seeing the confused look on Harry's face, the voice elaborated, "Aderyn, the leader of the G-1 Riders, swooped in on the back of his faithful Heaven Dragon at the last minute. He was able to distract Thomas, Harold, and Alexandria long enough for Kai and the others to escape."
"Then what happened?" Harry asked, urging the voice to continue with its narration.
"The war between the two races last for another three years before it ended abruptly. Civil war broke out in Hellania – apparently, both Kai and Thomas had been played the fool."
"What do you mean?" Harry demanded sharply, slightly frustrated by the voice's lack of forthcoming information.
"Remember how the war started with the assassination of the demon ambassador?" asked the voice. "Well, the whole scheme was planned by the Demon Advisor Dai, who had set his eyes on the Demon throne long ago. He had intricately devised this plan to keep the young, demon heir occupied…and while Thomas was busy battling the Riders, Dai gathered his forces and staged a coup d'etat.
"He didn't succeed though…
"Kai was wrong when he said Thomas didn't have the loyalty of his friends. Harold and Alexandria stood by Thomas through thick and thin…and ultimately sacrificed their souls for his sake. Through the sacrifice of his cousin and his beloved fiancée, Thomas was able to seal Dai away for eternity…
"After rebuilding the Demon Kingdom, Thomas turned over his throne to his mother…and joined his cousin and fiancée in death."
The voice sighed tiredly before murmuring, "One demon's ambition killed billions, desolated Hellania, and destroyed Dargon."
"So both worlds are gone?" asked Harry, feeling suddenly very empty.
"No, both worlds still exist."
Harry's head snapped up in attention and demanded, "What do you mean?"
"Both Hellania and Dargon are still in existence today. However, the entrance to Dargon has been locked by Aderyn (the first Rider), who quickly ushered all the surviving Riders and Non-Riders out of Dargon and onto Earth during the Demon Civil War. The Riders took nothing with them. They left their homes, their possessions, and their Dragons. Aderyn, the sole survivor remaining in their desolate homeland, gave up his life to seal the remaining Dragons inside Dargon…never to be opened again."
"…And that's why we're here." concluded Harry. "That's why we're on Earth – because three Riders (and many non-Riders) escaped here."
"Yes," the voice answered. "As time passed, they learned to assimilate into society, mingling with the muggles who were already in this world. Thus, Wizards and Witches were brought into existence."
"As descendants?" asked Harry.
"Mhm," affirmed the voice, "which is why all the Dragon Riders today are either Witches or Wizards." Sighing slightly, the voice sadly added, "But the treasured Arts of the Dragon Riders slowly disappeared with time…without the manuscripts the Riders had been forced to leave behind in Dargon, the new generations of Riders slowly forgot the old ways and the true power of the Riders were lost…"
"Is Kai still alive?" Harry asked abruptly as the pieces slowly fell into place. "From what I saw, Kai looked exactly the same age 673 years after the war as he did before the war began."
"Riders, unlike Demons, are not immortal. Riders retained everlasting youth through their immortal companions – the Dragons. However, immortality does not mean invincibility. With the death of the bonded friends, there was nothing to anchor the Riders to this world. While it's generally true Riders can still live up to 600 years, they no longer retain their youth and immortality."
"So that's it." Harry murmured, shaking his head.
"No, it isn't." The voice sounded troubled. "For centuries, things passed in relative silence. Generations came…and generations went. The Riders dutifully passed on their Arts – even though more and more knowledge was getting lost as the years passed. However, peace was once again shattered…fifty years ago.
"Chaos came in the form of a brilliant, charismatic Rider during the 62nd generation. His name…was Tom Riddle."
TBC
Okay, this chapter doesn't have action, but it has a lot of information. Please make sure you understand all the events that transpired in this chapter, because this is the main foundation for everything in later chapters. Drop me a review or e-mail if anything is unclear. HOWEVER, read the summary below before you ask questions!
Summary of the Events
1. Harry learns that there is seven universes altogether – two of which is Dargon and Hellania.
2. Introduction to the four different species of Dragons – Drake, Elemental, Royal, and Heaven.
3. Non-Riders are everyone who are related to Dragon Riders, but are not the Riders themselves (who are chosen every fifty years).
4. The Rider-Dragon bond is based on power (only the first Rider had enough power to bond with a Heaven Dragon).
5. Peace between Hellania and Dargon was shattered during the 8th Generation when Kai accidentally killed the Demon ambassador. The war, known as the Great Demon-Dragon War, lasted for 673 years.
6. The war was held at a stalemate for 355 years, but then the Riders gained the upper hand for 75 years after the death of the Demon King Arastix.
7. The tides of the war changed when Prince Thomas took the throne. Thomas planted his cousin, Harold, and his fiancée, Alexandria in the midst of the Riders – giving him the upper hand in the war.
8. 240 years after he takes the throne (inheriting the war); Thomas makes the final confrontation with Kai. He reveals Harold and Alexandria as his cousin and fiancée by alluding to the details of demon heritage.
9. Kai and two other Riders are saved from death by Aderyn, the first Rider. However, their Dragons were killed in the battle. The war continues for another 3 years before it finally ends – because Civil War broke out in Hellania.
10. Harry learns that the whole war was single-handedly plotted by Dai, the Demon Advisor, who was planning to take over the throne of Hellania. He pitted Thomas against the Riders to weaken Thomas's power…
11. Alexandria and Harold sacrifice their souls in order for Thomas to seal Dai for all eternity. Thomas, after rebuilding Hellania and giving the throne to his mother, joins his friends in death.
12. During the events of the Civil War, Aderyn (the first Rider), sent all the survivors (three Riders and many non-Riders) of Dargon to Earth without anything (manuscripts or Dragons). Then Aderyn, sacrificing his life, sealed the remaining Dragons inside Dargon…forever.
13. Centuries passed and the non-Riders assimilated into society, mingling with muggles of the world…and thus creating Witches and Wizards, the intermediary race between two vastly different worlds.
14. Riders (12) were still chosen every fifty years, but the Arts were slowly lost through time. Riders, unlike Demons, were not immortal without their Dragon companions (and didn't live past the age of 600).
15. Peace was retained for centuries. True Riders lived apart from society and passed on their Arts from generation to generation (even though most of the Arts were lost). But then peace was shattered again by the emergence of the G-62 Rider, Tom Riddle.