Chapter 3
It had been a day since Star and Silver had become mates and they were taking a walk through the forest so Zephyr could get a little exercise. So far Zephyr had been chasing every animal that was smaller than him.
"Man! I haven't felt this good in years!" shouted Zephyr at the top of his lungs.
"Don't run too far Zephyr!" shouted Star. "We need to get back to the house before sunset!"
"I know I know! I'm just having a little fun!" replied Zephyr as he tore after a weasel.
Star let out a sigh. "Sometimes I wonder just how old he is. He acts like a kid when he gets to run around the forest yet he's older than we are."
"He just wants to have a little fun Star. You're acting like his mother." Said Silver. "Just relax and let him enjoy himself."
"I guess you're right. Maybe I should just let him have his fun and –"Star didn't get to finish her thought because just then she saw someone she hadn't seen since she was a little kid. She saw her old friend Haven.
"Haven!" exclaimed Star as she ran up and tackle hugged her childhood friend, causing Haven to look both shocked and happy to see her old friend.
"Star?" asked Haven. "Ow ow. You're crushing me, Star." Silver had to pry Star off of Haven before she crushed her.
"Wow Star," said Haven as she rubbed her side. "You're as strong as ever."
"Sorry." Apologized Star. She was about to ask how Haven had been when she remembered she hadn't introduced Silver yet. "Oh yeah. Haven this is my mate, Silver. Silver this is Haven. She's my best friend from when I was a little kid.
"Hi." Said Silver with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Haven had white feathered wings like Star's only hers were a little shorter. She had golden brown hair that went halfway down her back. She had deep brown eyes and elf-like ears. She looked about five feet tall and was about 12 years old in appearance. She gave off an aura that only earth dragons had. She also wore a plain white shirt and earthen brown pants. She started looking around as if she were trying to find something. "Oh where did Anna run off too?"
"Who's Anna?" asked a confused Star.
"Oh that's right. You don't know about Anna. Anna is my pet fox. She just grew out of being a pup so she's a little too curious." Explained Haven.
"We can help you find her Haven." Offered Star. "Hey where did Silver go?"
"Right here." Answered Silver who seemed to have popped out of nowhere. He was holding a squirming white animal about as big as a pup. "I believe this belongs to you" he said handing the animal to Haven.
"Anna!" said a relieved Haven. "Don't go running off on your own like that again. You scared me." Anna gave a whimper in apology. "Ok good to know you understand."
"You can understand her?" asked Star.
"Star, earth dragons can understand any animal. They have a stronger connection to nature than we do." Explained Silver.
"Silver's right." Said Haven. "Though it's a little harder with newborn animals but it gets easier as they get older."
"Silver how do you know so much?" asked Star.
"When you've traveled around as much as I have you tend to learn a few things and meet a few people." Explained Silver. "I've met a dragon of every race and befriended quite a few of them."
"Wow. You really need to tell me more about your past Silver." Said Star. "I don't want to end up surprised every time I learn something new about you."
"Star people keep things about their past secret for a reason," said Haven. "If he wants to tell you he will. But don't pester him about it."
Star let out a defeated sigh, "Fine. So how have you been these last few years Haven? Other than getting Anna." Haven started telling Star all about what's happened since they last saw each other. Pretty soon they walked off talking and left Silver alone. He didn't want to follow because that was between them. Besides, Silver had a feeling something was going on, something that would result in a very big problem.
With a leap he catapulted over the trees and spread his majestic wings. He flew towards where the uneasy feeling was strongest, Mount Abaddon. That was the place where the greatest evil ever known was sealed for all eternity.
Millions of years ago a great war raged on and nearly destroyed the planet. On one side were the dragons of fire, water, earth, wind, light, sun, and moon. On the other side were the dragons of dark, storm, ice, thunder, and death. Each side was led by a Dragon God. The side of light was led by Davilteau, while the side of dark was led by Gneicht. The two sides fought ferociously in an almost never ending conflict. The dragons of light were starting to lose until their leader found a way to end the conflict once and for all. They rendered the other dragons immobile by using the power the sun and moon dragons gain during the equinox, when night and day are perfectly balanced. They created a star seal around Gneicht and sealed his power away within Mount Abbadon forever.
All dragons who were descendants of the warriors who fought in the war knew this story. Silver was one of them and he wanted to keep Star out of it. He reached Mount Abbadon quickly and flew into a hidden cavern. The cavern led to the deepest part of the mountain, the Pit of Destruction. At the bottom of the pit lay the seal that had held Gneicht prisoner since the Great War. Silver descended to the very edge of the seal, knowing that if he touched it he would be sealed as well.
A feeling of dread washed over him when he saw the seal. It was beginning to weaken. The powers of fire, water, earth, and wind were drained. The other powers weren't doing so well either.
"This isn't good. If the seal breaks Gneicht will escape his prison. If that happens we'll have a full fledged war on our hands. I've got to warn the other races, which means I'll need to tell Star." Thought Silver. He quickly got out of there because his own power was weakening from being so close to the seal. He heard Star and Haven calling out trying to find him. He landed in front of them.
"There you are!" exclaimed Star. "We've been looking all over for you," only then did she see the look of dread on Silver's face. "What's going on Silver? Did something happen?"
"You know the legendary battle between Davilteau and Gneicht that happened millions of years ago?" asked Silver.
"Yeah. Everyone does. The moon dragons were on the side of Davilteau, our species."
"Well Star…I'm a direct descendant of the Great Moon Dragon that served under Davilteau." Explained Silver. "My ancestor was Luna. There's a prophecy about the future that deals with the descendants of each dragon."
Silver's eyes became half shut and a strange aura appeared around him. His voice became dark and full of power, as if another person was speaking through him. "When the power of the seal is gone, the beast will escape from Abaddon. Each new dragon must stand and fight, and vanquish the evil in the darkness of the night."
"T-that's creepy," said Haven. "Why is he talking like that Star?"
"Moon dragons are dragons of prophecy. The moon shows the next day with the light it gets from the sun. So moon dragons are not only more powerful at night when the moon shines but we see the future as well," explained Star. "The prophecy Silver recited is the one given to the original great dragons after they sealed Gneicht. Luna predicted he would escape in the future but didn't know when. So when the seal weakens, it's the duty of the current descendant of the moon dragon race to unite all the races of dragons and fight Gneicht once more."
"Star is right," said Silver. "So now we need to travel and find the other six dragons. Haven I hate to ask this but can you look after Zephyr for us while we're gone?"
"Of course. I'll help in any way I can." Answered Haven. "But where are you heading to first? The dragons dispersed after the battle ended. No one knows where they went."
"I know," answered Silver. "It's foggy but the first is in the land of eternal flames, in the city of Brenton. That's where Pyron's descendant is."
Star did a quick mental check on what she knew about the world, "So Brenton is at least a week's travel even by flight," explained Star. "So we should get going before it gets too dark to travel."
"You're right Star. Let's get going. And thanks for watching Zephyr for us Haven."The two dragons took off into the sky heading west towards Brenton. The two would face many challenges in their mission to unite the seven descendants of the dragons.