He backed slowly towards the cave wall, panicing he gripped the single glowing shard of a sword even tighter now.
"Cornered by a dragon?" Spoke a slow soft voice."and to think you may have lived if you had just handed that shard over." The young boy frightened reached for anything on the wall. The Large Dragon Slowly came nearer.
It's nostrils were flaring for the meal the dragon had hunted. The boy staring straight into the eye of the dragon had nearly lost conciousness before he gripped something on the wall.
He pulled it with all his might as the dragon reared back it's enormous head, he kept pulling. Finally a part came loose, the dragon was at the height of attack. "3." The voice chuckled. "2." The Boy yanked harder.
"1." The Dragon pulled forward.
The boy dropped his arms as the dragon fell miserably on it's side, a rusted sword jammed through it's head. The figure that had spoke was now clearly visible.
"Well done, you found a shard. It still won't help you"
The boy was still trying to gasp for air when he finally screamed back, "I know I can stop you, the war won't happen!" He reached into the dragons mouth and tore the sword out cutting the dragons mouth in half.
The man looked at the boy with a wild glare. "But can't you see?" His voice was getting wilder. "The war has already begun"
The boy no older than twelve charged for the man, covered in blood and no battle experience until this moment. The man had stood laughing wildly, and as the child approached he had jabbed a dagger into his side,
the boy fell gasping to the floor. "My name is Luxiard Hellfox, when you are ready to kill me. Come, but if you are not ready to kill me you will die.
"Wake up." The voice was almost gentle, but he recognized it, he had no family or friends. Who could it be?
"Hey, Darigan she told you to wake up!"
The boy called Darigan, shot his eyes open, He was at the knight academy.
"Oh, it's just you Huxley." He yawned, "and i was having the nicest dream, you weren't in it."
"Aww so sad, it's about time we got another prissy fanboy at the academy, they were the fun ones."
Darigan sighed "Yah, until you shot them in the back of the head with a bow."
Huxley laughed "That's what was so fun!"
A girl smacked Huxley in the back of the head "That's not funny Huxley!" Huxley chuckled nervously "Katrina, I didn't ean it was funny, I just meant um.. They deserved to die"
Katrina raised her hand again "Like you?" Darigan jumped into the middle "Ladies, lets get along." Huxley reached for his bow. Babbling in frustration, Darigan punched him square across the cheek, "We're not allowed to draw weapons unless on the field"
Huxley recovered quickly from the punch, And started yelling in frustration "Then lets settle this! Right Now lets go!"
Katrina spoke softly "We can't."
Both looked up in surprise "Why?"
She gulped "We're late for class."
They used whatever means of getting through the halls to getting to their class silently, they walked on roofs jumped into closets, they even knocked a sentry out.
But all in vain.
Slowly but surely they heard the paddle of their teachers whip behind them.
"Late for class again?" He spoke with a devil like smile on his face. Darigan Spoke up first "Sir really I can explain well. . "
"No excuses!" He yelled with his wicked smile, Darigan could hear the snickers of the children in the class.
Slowly their "executioner" as the students called him raised the whip, and swiftly beat Katrina, Huxley, and Darigan with 20 blows to the back. Huxley wailed in moderate pain, Katrina whimpered in solitude hoping not to be periecved as a wimp. Darigan stood still the pain was nothing to him.
Not compared to what he had been through before. The painful vision kept coming back every time the whip struck.The painful image of the man in the deep red cloak. The strikes were getting faster, the whips never lasted long anyway. Darigan sat with his arm pressed against the wall.
His head was leaned against his arm. The memory was painfully burned into his mind. The rip in the sky, the shadowy image only he seemed to see. He became frustrated at himself for not saying anything and running off.
The whipping stopped. The teacher Mr or Professor Hemmingway as he loved to be called, was satisfied with the beating and sent them back to their seats.
There was a moment of silence as the group of three walked to their seats. After taking a beating from Mr. Hemmingway you were lucky to be alive. Darigan had his head held low the resiliant burning image ceasing to disappear.
It always happened like this the image would appear after any sort of pain and wouldn't go away for acouple of days, it always nearly drove him mad. He believed Mr. Hemmingway took pleasure in knowing his problem because he would always find the slightest reason to punish him.
The Professor banged loudly on his desk as Darigan took his seat in the far back corner of the room.
"Today..." He said slowly. "is measurement day, no classes." The students took the slightest of cheers because the proffesor, seemed to hate happy little children.
Darigan even took this happily he sat up in his chair and took joy, he stared out the window the sun was shining, perfect. Absolutely perfect.
He slowly walked up to the office. They didn't count the measurement day as a class, even though they always made it seem like it.
He looked at the measurement records of his friends posted outside of the door, Katrina Barr, 5"2', 14, eyes:blue, hair:brown, health: slight irritation in right eye, nothing more.
He didn't want to but he looked at Huxleys; just for kicks. Huxley Marterick, 5"4', 14, eyes:hazel, hair:blonde, health: major white hair creature swarm, Salve:Administered, Muscle expenditure large; access to medical drug room denied until further notice, Nothing further.
Darigan gave a small chuckle as three doctors came carrying Huxley by his collar. "I'm fine!" Huxley continued to wail "I HAVE NOT BEEN USING DRUGS!" He screamed as they dragged him away.
Darigan gave another chuckle as he slowly walked into the nurses office.
The nurse typically wasn't a skinny person. Her face was dismembered enough that you'd think baby zards were being grown on there.
Darigan had taken it upon himself once to do a little research on this women, she was hired to the school as she was drunk and she held a battle axe to the principals throat. Proclaiming she needed a job.
So she got one. She had lost more patients than she had saved, but overall, other than her drinking problem. She was a nice person.
"Mrs.Gertrand?" Darigan spoke as he wandered through piles of medical equipment. He had wandered to the back of the office before he found her. Darigan took it upon himself before she had asked he removed his shirt and sat upon the table,
Mrs.Gertrand had turned around and jumped when she saw Darigan, "Oh, i'm sorry!" She said with a kind smile. "I must have not heard ya come in my boy." she picked a a scalpel looking tool.
"How ya feeling Darigan?"
"Fine I suppose."
"You suppose?" She said running the object through his hair.
"Well." he started up.
"I believe your seeing your vision again?" She interrupted.
"Yah." Darigan said with a deep voice.
Darigan had always come to Mrs. Getrand when he felt pain, and the vision was "Warping his mind" as she had said before. She always had been able to comfort him through whatever.
"I don't believe that your telling me completely."
Darigan flared his head up after Mrs. Gertrand put down her tool and started searching for another one. "Really that's all!" he said smiling
She picked up a thermometer and placed it in his mouth."Uh-huh, i'm sure."
"Yah! Really!" He said in a muffled voice.
"I can tell your lying to me."
"How?" He said puzzled
She came close to his ear."Your voice gets louder when you lie."
He quieted down slightly. "Still there's the fact that I might not tell"
Mrs.Gertrand spoke "Don't worry I know you'll talk."
Darigan slightly raised an eyebrow."Oh? How?"
She laughed "I don't know I could put something fake on your medical report, so they do what they're doing to Huxley."
"What are they doing to Huxley?"
"You really don't wanna know."
"Tell me!"
"Lets just say he won't be able to move for, umm say 4-5 months"
Darigan sat pondering this. "4-5 months"
"Yup."
"Ok.Ok."
"Speak up!"
"I'm worried about Katrina."
"Oh What about?"
"She has a problem with her eye. She's never had any problems before. It just kind of worries me."
"It's just irritation, nothing to worry about, now let me see your eyes"
She leaned over a little and stared into his eyes with a puzzled look in his face."What?" Darigan said paniced
"What time did you go to bed?"
"I don't know, but I know it was early."
"Well then."
"What?"
"It's nothing."
"Ok, well your muscles are large. But not as large as Huxley's." She gave a chuckle."Your free to go it'll be posted when you get out."
"Thank you!" He said putting on his shirt and charging out the door.
"Your Welcome'
He looked for his paper it was on the far end. He skipped to the Health end, health:Normal.
Normal? Then what was Mrs.Gertrand on about?
He quickly scanned the paper and normally red everything. Darigan (Unknown last name), 14,eyes:red.
Red? Darigan scanned the rest of the paper, hair: black with red trims?
What was wrong with Darigan? Was he turning red?
Quickly he ran back to his "Comfortable" Dorm room and picked up Katrina's Mirror. It was true, his eyes were red. His hair looked like it was about to be engulfed by the color.