Chapter 5

Silver, Star, and Ragnar had left Brenton only hours ago. They were hiking through the dense forests of the land of fire. Being as tall as they were Silver and Ragnar had to duck under low hanging branches while Star was able to easily walk under them. The plants were getting thicker the deeper they traveled into the forests. Since Ragnar had never left the palace he didn't know his way around. So they relied on the powers of sight that Star and Silver possessed to show them the right way. So far the power had proved correct; they could see the mountains that separated the two countries.

By late afternoon they reached the mountains. Star and Ragnar stared at it in awe. Star had climbed mountains before but only the one that was near her cabin. She had never seen a mountain this big though, it was twice the size of the one back home. Ragnar stared at the mountain wide eyed.

"We better get climbing," Silver said. He removed his boots and his feet changed into dragon talons. The others followed his example and did the same. They began to scale the mountain, simply walking upward while clinging to the rock with their talons. The higher they ascended the colder and harder the wind blew. The group was grateful for the clothes Ragnar's father had given them.

"My dad may be a cold brutal warrior," Ragnar said. "But he sure knows how to prepare for a long journey. If he hadn't given us these clothes we would be freezing right now!"

"You're right Ragnar," agreed Star. "The clothes Silver and I had wouldn't have been warm enough for this climb." The two of them had started up a conversation while Silver continued to lead the group. To make sure no one got lost they had tied a rope to each other's waist, starting at Silver's and ending at Ragnar's. Silver looked out at the sky, the sun was starting to set. He scanned the area until he found a cave large enough for them to stay in for the night.

"Guys," Silver called. "We're going to have to make camp for the night." He pointed over towards the cave. "There's a cave over there we can spend the night in." They nodded and all headed over towards the cave. Within minutes Ragnar had a fire going by putting his tail in the middle of the cave and making it blaze with fire. Star cuddled against Silver, wrapping her tail around his and falling asleep against him. Silver wrapped his arms around her and soon fell asleep as well, smiling happily.

Ragnar smiled at the two then stared out at the sky. He began to wonder when he would find his destined mate. I hope I find her soon. Thought Ragnar. It's getting annoying seeing the two of them like that. He raised his head to the sky and muttered a prayer to Davliteau. Please let me find my destined mate while on this journey. I just want to know happiness like Star and Silver do. Please. He fell asleep soon, the fire on his tail still blazing brightly. During his sleep he dreamt about his future mate.

She was a beautiful dragonet. Long black hair that flowed with each graceful movement. Deep sea green eyes shined with happiness. She was about a head shorter than Ragnar, making her as tall as Silver. Her wings we're the part that caught his attention the most. They were like a crane's, long, graceful, and beautiful. She was dressed in traditional female martial arts clothes. A full body dress that allowed her arms and legs easy movement. Her tail was long and slender, flowing with her movements easily. She danced around, holding two folding fans that held scenes of beauty on them. With each flick of her wrists the fans sent of a fresh breeze of air at him. When she ended her dance and walked over to him and was about to kiss him, he awoke. Star was shaking him.

"Finally," she huffed. "We've been waiting for you to wake up for forever."

"S-sorry." Ragnar muttered. "I just had a weird dream, that's all."

"Tell us about it." Said Silver. Ragnar explained his dream to them. About the dragonet that danced with the folding fans. Silver just nodded encouraging him to continue. Star on the other hand was looking like she had just eaten a barrel full of sugar. She was bouncing excitedly at the idea of her new friend finding his mate. "Well Ragnar, judging by your description of her," Silver began. "I'd say that was Tami. She's the younger twin of the two current descendants of Yamanu. Her brother is Jack. They specialize in fighting with folding fans. If you think she is your mate then you will need to get her brother's blessing first. He is very protective of her."

"Okay." Ragnar said with bravery, puffing out his chest. He stood up and shouldered his pack. "Let's go. I've got a mate to find." The couple smiled and followed him down the mountain. Instead of the wind slowing down, it picked up greatly. Despite this, Ragnar continued to descend at a quick pace, practically dragging his friends behind him.

Soon they reached the base of the mountain and spotted a village nestled in a small valley. "Behold," Silver pointed to the village. "The great village of Yama."

"It's bigger than I thought." Star replied. Ragnar nodded in agreement.

"So where do the twin descendants live?" asked Ragnar.

Silver pointed to the largest building in the village. A large two story building made from stone with a green roof. On the second story the kanji for wind was carved into the rock so large it could be seen from where they stood. "That building right there."

Ragnar couldn't hold in his excitement any longer. He slashed the rope and bolted down toward the village. In an instant Star and Silver came to an understanding and bolted after him. By the time they caught up he was already at the gates, yelling up at the sentry to let him in, when the sentry saw Silver he nodded and opened the gate.

"How come when I asked him to open the gate he didn't, but when you show up he opens it immediately?" Ragnar asked pointing at Silver.

"I'm well known around here. Now let's go, I want to see how the twins have grown up." Answered Silver. He led them down the streets to the large building. The villagers all smiled at him, obviously happy that Silver had returned. When they reached the building they were let in immediately. The second the door closed they heard feet running down the stairs. The girl from Ragnar's dream was the one running. The second she saw Silver she jumped at him and hugged him like he was a very missed family member.

"Big Brother Silver!" She shouted. She stopped hugging him for a minute to yell up the stairs. "Jack! Silver is back, and he brought new friends!" Soon a boy that looked almost exactly like Tami only with short spiky hair, a red headband tied around his head, and wings like that of an eagles, showed up at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's good to finally see you again after all these years Silver." Jack said not even trying to hide his happiness. He noticed Tami clinging to Silver and tried to pry her off with little success. He then looked at Ragnar. "A little help here please?" He ran to Tami's other side and helped Jack pry her off. They all fell backwards and Tami landed on Ragnar. When they opened their eyes and realized their position they both blushed such a deep red Silver thought their heads would burst into flames.

"It's good to see you too Jack. You as well Tami." Silver replied smiling. These two were like family to him. "Oh, that's right. Jack, Tami. This is my mate Star" he motioned to her. "And the guy with the magma red face still holding Tami is Ragnar. He's the fire descendant."

"Ah," Jack sighed. He looked over at Ragnar and Tami and couldn't help but laugh. "You two look like your perfect for each other!" Laughing at them he pretty much earned a slap to the head from all four dragons in the room. "OW! Okay I'm sorry! I couldn't help but make fun of it."

"You better not laugh again brother. Or else." She was now sitting in Ragnar's lap. The 'or else' part seemed to scare Jack because he immediately got a caged animal look.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna bet?"

"Okay that's enough." Silver said in a serious tone. "No fighting you two. Now I need to talk with the two of you. It's VERY important."

The twins looked at each other and nodded, a silent agreement passing through them. They led the group to a large room. A table stood in the center. The twins sat at one end of the table and Silver and his friends sat at the other. Silver explained what was going on. The seal holding Gneicht prisoner weakening and his recruiting the descendants of the original dragons to defeat him once and for all. The twins looked at each other again and did what Ragnar had done. They pledged themselves to Silver's cause and the full moon tattoo's shimmered onto the backs of their right hands.

Suddenly screams filled the air. Silver and Ragnar ran to the door and burst outside. A storm was raging. Darkness had blanketed the entire village, thunder cracked, typhoon winds raged, sleet pounded the citizens and the buildings, and people were dropping in the streets. Jack, Tami, and Star were right behind them now. Jack looked furious while Tami and Star were completely shocked. Maniacal laughter roared in five part harmony. They all looked up to see five dragons standing on a dark storm cloud.

The one on the far left was obviously a girl. She had pitch black hair that matched her armor completely. Her wings were like that of the devil himself, long, leathery, and creepy. Her tail was long and ended in a strange trident shape. It glinted as if it were made of metal. Even though they couldn't see her eyes, they could feel them. Dark evil that bored into their very being. Her teeth were pointed as if she was in her released form, but she was in a completely human form. Her claws were as sharp as a dagger; dripping with what they all hoped wasn't blood. A broad sword strapped to her side. The aura around her was pure black that gave off a very malicious feel. The strange thing was she looked like a dark, evil version of Star.

The one on the immediate left was male. He had stormy gray hair and armor. His wings were the same as the girl on his right. His tail was larger than most dragons and ended in a strange hammer shape. His eyes felt dark and cold, just like the storm. Even through his armor they could tell his body had been shaped into a fighting machine, bulging muscles covering every inch of his body. A halberd was strapped to his back, the blade as black as night, sharp enough to kill in an instant. His claws were sharpened to a point. His face was a dragon's maw, a long snout, razor sharp teeth, and scaly skin. The aura around him was swirling around him like a storm cloud.

The one on the far right had icy blue hair, skin, and armor. His face was covered in cloth, like a ninja's. His wings were made of ice, shaped like demons wings. It looked as if he had no tail, but when they focused they could see ice vapor forming a tail shape behind him. His eyes were cold and unfeeling, just like ice. His hands were completely human, yet pale as snow. Frost was forming in the air around him, making it look like he was making it snow. His aura was so cold and menacing it made the temperature drop just by him being there.

The one on the immediate right had electric blonde hair that was spiked as if he had been zapped by lightning, which he probably had been. His wings were feathered and impossibly large. His tail was spiked all over, electricity sparking from them. His eyes were wide and excited, like he had just eaten his own body weight in sugar. The urge to fight practically radiated from him. His hands were human and electricity was arcing off his fingers. He had a bow on his back yet no sign of a quiver for arrows. His whole body seemed like one big lightning rod. The aura around him was sparking, making the dark storm cloud they stood on thunder.

The one in the middle was the most terrifying. His hair was pure silver, his armor blood red. His feathered black wings were terrifying. His eyes were a cruel silver, the area outside them was black as night. The power of death radiated from him, scarring all of them. His hands were human yet looked dangerously powerful. A large scythe was in his right hand, the blade was a menacing violet. It let out so much power Star's knees were buckling. The aura around him completely radiated death. The scariest thing of all, he looked exactly like Silver, only a hundred times crueler. He smiled cruelly and looked straight at Silver.

"Hello, brother." He said looking right at Silver. Everyone gasped. His voice was like Silver's but his had a dark undertone, making him sound incredible menacing.

"S-silver," Star said weakly. "WH-what's he mean by 'brother'? You can't possibly be his brother."

Silver had a grave look on his face, when he spoke his voice had such a dark and serious tone it scarred Star and Tami. "I'm afraid he's right Star. Marcus" he said the name with such hate it scared Star, "Is my brother."

"You have a brother?!" shouted Jack and Tami in unison. "Why didn't you tell anyone?!"

Silver was about to answer when Marcus did it for him, "He never told anyone because he hates me. He hates the fact that his father wasn't able to stop my father from having his way with our mother."

"You two don't have the same father?" Star asked confused

"No. My father was a moon dragon, his" he pointed at Marcus, "was a death dragon."

"That's right. Now why don't you put down that child's sword and pick up your old sword? Let's duke it out for old time's sake,"

Silver had to resist the urge to attack him. Instead he looked at Jack who understood what the look meant. He ran inside, causing Marcus to laugh evilly.

"The great wind descendant is scared?" Marcus taunted. "I thought wind dragons were braver than that!" Ragnar had to hold Tami back from lunging at Marcus and to her possible death.

Jack returned with a long object wrapped in velvet cloth. He handed it to Silver who took it gingerly, as if it were explosives. He unwrapped the object to reveal a long sword with a crescent moon at the bottom of the handle. In the center of the hilt a beautiful purple stone shined like the full moon on a clear night. The blade shined with silver light. On the blade going down it was a single word written in dragonic:

Star and the others were shocked to see the sword. Star didn't know a single word in dragonic but even she knew the name of the sword made from the gem Luna gave to her first descendant. "Caliocerion," gasped. "I didn't think the sword still existed. I heard it was lost centuries ago,"

"That was a lie spread by the moon dragon of a thousand years ago. He pretended to lose the sword to get people to stop battling him for it," explained Marcus.

Silver glared up at his twin brother. His eyes becoming that of a killer. "Lunar Blade Slash," he slashed the blade through the air, a silver slash flying at Marcus.

Marcus easily blocked the attack with his scythe. On contact with the attack a word appeared on the blade: , "Good to see you're going to fight seriously brother," Marcus grinned evilly and jumped down from the cloud. He and Silver charged each other. When their blades clashed the entire ground shook with such force Star and Tami were knocked off their feet. Since Silver had a free hand he used it and jabbed Marcus in the jaw. The two jumped away from each other. Marcus rubbed his now bruising jaw.

Silver charged at Marcus with such speed he was practically invisible, "Running Slash!" Marcus barely managed to dodge but Silver and gave him a large cut on his left arm. Silver charged again but Marcus jumped above him. "Oh no you don't! Aerial Thrust!" Silver thrust his sword upwards so fast Marcus wasn't able to dodge. Silver cut each arm and leg a total of five times each. Marcus landed on his feet but wavered and fell to one knee. "Earth Shaker!" He slammed the blade down on the ground, a huge shockwave spreading in all directions. Marcus was launched off his feet. Ragnar and the others barely managed to keep their balance.

Marcus laughed maniacally, "So you've finally shown your true sword fighting powers! Now I'll show you mine!" He stood and slashed his scythe, a dark slash flying at Silver, "Reaper!" Silver blocked it easily only to end up with Marcus spinning toward him like a bullet, "Wolf Fang!"

Silver countered by dodging and slashed Marcus in a spin, "Sword Dance!" Marcus got a large deep cut on the front of his torso. Silver went in for the kill when suddenly the other four dragons from the dark storm cloud stopped him. The thunder, ice, and storm dragons locked his movements and held him in place. The dark dragonet walked over to Marcus and began to heal his wounds. When she finished she smiled up at him and he returned the smile.

"Oh that's right, I never introduced my comrades. That's Cray," he pointed at the storm dragon, "Tristan," the ice dragon, "Donarus," the thunder dragon. Then finally he smiled down at the dark dragonet and pulled her close to him, "And this beautiful creature is my mate, Lena."

"Oh, so you can actually love and be loved?" Silver mocked. Lena snarled at him, reaching for her sword.

Marcus calmed her and placed a hand on hers, "Calm down Lena. Silver isn't worth killing just yet. Besides Lord Gneicht needs him alive," she still glared at him so hard Silver started to feel weak. Marcus' warriors let Silver go and took off into the sky. "Farewell brother. But before I leave I have a gift for you," he raised his scythe, "Wind Slash!" he swiped his weapon and a visible slash of wind flew at Silver. Star and Ragnar jumped in front of Silver. Ragnar took the brunt of the attack and Star covered Silver's body as a protective shield. Marcus and Lena had vanished into thin air, the storm had stopped, and they realized that they had much more to worry about than Gneicht.

Silver's sword fell out of his hands, clanking against the stone ground. His eyes rolled up into his head and fell against Star. She caught him and everyone ran over. They ran into Jack and Tami's house and laid him out on the floor. When they removed his armor to check for wounds what they found shocked them. He had burn wounds, chunks of ice clung to him and large bruises from storm winds. Those three dragons had injured him when they stopped him from killing Marcus.

"Let's get to work healing Silver," Tami ordered. So they went to work. Ragnar broke the ice with a well placed punched. They used the ice to cool down the burns and to try and heal the bruises. The ice hadn't worked. Apparently this ice was meant to burn. So Star began to heal his wounds the way she had when they first met. Soon all of his wounds were taken care of. They moved Silver into a room Jack told them he had used when he took care of them.