He was somewhere dark, that much was obvious as he searched for any sign of light in the empty space. "Where am I?" His voice echoed through the cavern, bouncing off the pitch-black walls. "This place sounds... hollow. Am I underground"? Slowly making his way forward, he heard a roar echo through the tunnel. Bouncing and reverberating around him from somewhere ahead.

He jumped, eyes wide, trying to pinpoint where it came from. He stayed in place for several minutes before continuing ahead, this time much more slowly.

The roars slowly grew louder as he continued forward, Garbling and twisting until they became strangely… familiar?

"They said It would work, Please…"

His mouth felt dry as he made his way forward, making sure to walk as quietly as possible on the sandy ground. The voice echoed again, much closer and desperate this time. He couldn't tell if it sounded human, but whatever it was it was big.

"WHY WON'T THIS STUPID THING WORK..."

He crouched instinctively as his heart hammered in his head. Eyes scanning the darkness for something, anything. A small blue light appeared in the darkness ahead of him, outlining a giant figure hunched over the light. Cavernous wings amplifying twisted horns and spikes. His stomach leaped into his throat as he froze in place.

"I'VE LOST TOO MUCH, IT HAS TO WORK ,PLEASE,...please ...please," The figure ahead started to shake slightly. The wings crumpling around itself as what might be its head lowered. He could hear crying. His eyes softened as he again made his way forward. No matter who or what this was he wanted to help. He stopped, berating himself for being so stupid.

"The only way I could cheer this thing up is as a light snack." Spotting a boulder he quickly hid beside it, watching the keening creature.

The shaking stopped.

"Ohhhh'' It chuckled, its Voice rising with glee as it began to laugh.

" After so long… The rumors are true. " The blue light began to grow and grow as the laughter filled his head, digging deeper and deeper as-

Evan opened his eyes to the dull ceiling above blinked rapidly, still seeing the imprint of the light behind his eyelids. His phone rang on the nightstand beside him, calling him for the dreaded task of "school," aka modern-day torture. He shut off his alarm, groaning as he rolled out of bed. " What a weird dream..." he thought, still groggy. He didn't dream very often all though when he had they were usually cryptic and unhelpful. Although recently he'd had this dream multiple times in the past few weeks. " What could it mean?" he thought. He had tried looking up his dreams before but to no avail.

Maybe it's one of my "Prophecy Dreams.'' he wondered. Occasionally, he would have dreams that showed him an image or a brief clip of something that didn't make any sense. And then, weeks or sometimes months later, the clip would play out, and leave him with an odd feeling of Deja Vu. Although if it was a "Prophecy Dream" it was the longest he'd ever experienced.

Glancing to his right, Evan glanced at the art he had been working on last night. Page 163 in the popular 'Wings of Fire' graphic novel. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but it was decent! I'll try to finish the shading today, and finish the video tomorrow, he reassured himself. Knowing full well he would probably only get the shading done due to work. And my own laziness. He sighed.

Looking over at his bookshelf, He smiled at his 'Wings of Fire' collection. He had recently finished the last wings of the fire book, "Flames of Hope". A fantastic book, but he couldn't help but feel as if something was... missing. He mulled over the ending as he grabbed some clothes and made his way to the shower.

Showering was always a nice way to get up for him. It woke him up quickly and it made him feel a little hopeful for the coming day. Even if it was usually rather dull overall. Finishing his shower quickly he half heartedly swiped his hair with a comb before heading downstairs.

He gave a half-hearted" Good Morning'' to his dad before grabbing a bowl of cereal, looking over at his phone to see if he'd gotten any notifications on his book. He'd released it recently and surprisingly it was doing ok. Although he didn't see any new updates.

"Hey kid, tu as bien dormi? " ( You Slept well?) asked his dad. Setting down his own phone.

"Well enough" He replied, not making eye contact. He always found it a little annoying when his Dad tested his French. Finishing his cereal quickly he sat by the couch, waiting for the bus. "I wonder if Rose is doing ok", he thought, mulling over his sister.

Rose, his younger sister, was in Kansas with their mother. Rose chose to stay with their mother instead of heading to the coast with the rest of the family. They had kept contact with texts and calls but something had changed between them.

He pondered the move, had he made the right decision? Too soon to tell maybe, and in any case, there's no use worrying about what we can't change, right?

"You seem a little different this morning, I know you said you were fine, but really, how'd you sleep?" Dad asked. Turning over the coffee in his hand.

"I had a few dreams, "he replied, grateful to have an excuse away from his mind.

"Such as?" Dad asked.

He sighed, thinking back to the dream again he replied: "It was a lot longer than most of my dreams, a lot clearer too. It was the same one I told you about last time. "

"Man, your hormones are really kicking up." Dad said, bemused.

"NO, NOT THAT ONE!" He felt heat rise to his cheeks.

"I never should have told you about that dream. This was the other one, the one with the blue light. "

"Riiiiiiight.'' His dad grinned but he didn't press him, turning back to his paper.

He thought back to the details of the move again. His dad and stepmom, Jasmine, had proposed moving away from Kansas looking for "something new" as they put it. "A fresh start for you, and your sister." As the oldest of three siblings, Evan, and his middle sister, Rose, had a choice. Stay with their mom, friends, and the comfort of the known, or move to Oregon, with a much bigger city with his Dad, stepmom, and youngest sister.

His gut reaction was to move and chase a new adventure eager for a fresh start. Rose, however, had decided to stay behind. This then forced a much harder decision. How could he not be with Rose, and leave his mom behind?

After many nights spent ignoring the looming decision, he stayed with his gut and pulled the trigger on heading west. Reassuring himself that change is inevitable and good. And now here he was, living in a new house, a new life...

And it was different.

"It is interesting that you keep having that dream though, maybe it means something. Dad said, still behind his paper.

He forced a smile before replying, "Yeah, Maybe" Looking back he noted the bus was pulling up.

Maybe…

Looking down at his schedule, Evan traversed through the crowded hallway of Winston High School. Just be myself and make friends, That's not so hard. he thought, forcing a smile. This was a much larger and complex school than his last one. Around 10 times bigger based on his Dad. The population of Winston High capped at around 1200 teenagers, which was the same as the population of the entire town that he had lived in just weeks prior.

He glanced at the door numbers trying to find the English class. 221, 222, 22-, He stopped, "That's weird" he muttered. Above the open door of 223. He could see a skewed version of English carved above the doorway. Faint but readable, must be some weird graffiti, he thought. Looking more closely, he could read what was etched in the doorframe

The Dragonglass Prophecy

Claws of fire. Dragons of Jade.

A Story foretold, a Story unmade.

Old wounds unearthed, Old legends Remade.

A Dance of Death ,of Fire and Sand.

The Dragon of Glass Seeks the Dragon of Lazule.

Warping, Distorting, Saving, or Destroying.

To restore the torn and resolve what is whole

Rewrite the Shattered Promise

Redraw the Shredded Soul.

The End of the Beginning or The Beginning of the End.

Beware the Clawless talon, Beware the Onyx Eye .

Time runs promptly while the mind wanders slowly

Protect Him,

Defend Him,

Betray Him,

Kill Him.

The words cemented themselves in his brain swirling and echoing through his mind like mist. He stumbled, bracing himself on the wall next to the doorway. Walk it off Evan, you got this. He Stepped forward…

ZWWAAAAAACCCCKKKKKK! The same overwhelming blue light instantly filled his vision as a kaleidoscope of colors and images flashed behind his eyes. The world distorted and twisted around him as he tried to scream.

His back hit the ground with a thump, pounding all the breath from his lungs as he lay on the ground. Unable to move as the blue light slowly faded from his vision, leaving only Darkness…