Here is Book 2 of The Dragon Princess. Enjoy!
At the Breach, General Amayus is riding his horse alone, patrolling the human-controlled sector, part of the Border where a river of lava divides the continent. He traveled behind a lava fall.
Amayus climbed off his horse to inspect a small hole on the side of the cliff, when he noticed his horse of backing away. He turns to see Sunfire Elves brandishing their swords. Two of them are male and one is female. Amayus pulls out his sword and grabs his shield. The Sunfire Elves attack him but he manages to best them as he leaps over them. As Amayus turns back to them, two of them run towards him, but he pushes one towards the rock and flips over the other sending her down the lava. When the one by the wall is about to strike, Amayus pushed him off the cliff as well. The third Sunfire Elf comes towards him and leaps at him to strike his sword at him. Amayus is able to deflect his attacks and also pushes him down the cliff.
He then faces what appears to be their leader, who draws out a Sunforge blade. He barely avoided his strikes. Unfortunately, the Sunforge blade sliced through Amayus' sword, forcing him to throw it at the Sunfire Elf leader. Luckily, Amayus' shield still offers him protection. He kicked the Sunfire Elf leader on the chest and he nearly slides off the cliff. This gives Amayus the opportunity get back on his horse and makes a dash back to his base. The Sunfire Elf leader stands up and just glares at the human.
Chapter 1:
A Secret and a Spark
"It feels like a lifetime ago since we left home, but it's only been a week. We left because we found something the world thought was destroyed, the egg of the Dragon Princess! Ezra and I decided to take a dangerous journey across the world, and carry this precious egg home to its father in Xadia. Maybe then we can stop the war. It's been an amazing adventure. I'm even learning how to do magic! Though it hasn't always been easy. In fact, it's probably been the hardest thing we've ever done. But we haven't done it alone. We've been traveling with a new friend, Raylis, who is a Moonshadow elf. We call him Ray now. And nothing I believe about elves is true. Ray is kind and good. He's fearless, fast, strong..."
"And daring. So very daring!"
Raylis stood behind Calla, who was writing a letter that lays out all the events in their journey so far. They are still staying at the Moon Nexus.
"Hey! Have you just been standing here the whole time?"
"Hey, have you been standing there the whole time?"
"Don't let me interrupt. You were looking for another good word to describe me, right? Well, I consider myself quite daring."
"Quite?" Calla questioned. Raylis nodded in response.
"Well, I'll be sure to tell my step-mom how 'quite daring' you are."
"You're writing a letter... to the queen?" Raylis asked, since he has not told Calla about the queen's death.
Calla nodded happily. "She'll be worried about us. It'll mean a lot to her to know why we left, that we're doing okay."
"In journeys, there are always surprises. Things never go as you plan. We dropped the egg, and thought all was lost. But something incredible happened. Now, instead of carrying an egg to Xadia, we're taking care of someone new. The most powerful creature in the entire world."
Calla looked as Ezra and Ellis are happily playing with Zym, who's hopping around trying to catch a butterfly.
"Dragons!" Vira is at the throne room, briefing the High Council of Katolis for a war meeting. "The Xadian threat throws every day. There had been sightings of terrifying shadows in the clouds, flying above the towns and cities of Katolis. War dragons! We must take action."
"No, we should wait." One of the councilors, named Saleera, preached. "Xadia sends assassins and they took the queen's life."
"And... we must answer!" Vira insisted.
"There hasn't even been the slightest skirmish since then. Maybe that was it?" Saleera shrugged. "They've had their revenge, and everything will just settle down now." Most of the councilors seemed convinced that the situation will de-escalate.
"Settle down? Can't you see the danger we're in?!" Vira yelled, then sighs. "General Amayus reports that elven forces are gathering on the Xadian side of the Breach. We must be prepared to fight, and we won't be able to fight them alone. We must call for a summit of the Pentarchy."
"You're out of order, Lady Vira!" Odel barked. "Only a king or queen can call for a summit. Frankly, I doubt the other rulers will even look at a message that doesn't bear the queen's seal."
"But this is a crisis of historic proportions! Humanity could face extinction if we don't work with the other four kingdoms to do something!"
"None of that matters while we have no ruler." Odel ruled out. "Therefore, our top and only priority must be finding the princesses. And until we do, our hands are tied."
Vira silently fumed.
Back at the Moon Nexus, the group are then called by Lujann for a feast. "Come and get it, everyone." He points to a long table with delicious-looking food with fancy plates, cups and utensils. "Elves and humans over here, and those with three or more legs can sit there, with Phoe-Phoe." He points to his phoenix standing besides four bowls for the animals.
"You named him... Phoe-Phoe?" Ellis questioned, as he and the princesses take their seat.
"He is a Moon Phoenix. His name is short for 'Phoenix-Phoenix'." Lujann answered.
"You have the best food up here. What's your secret?" Ezra asked while stuffing her face.
"Well, my secret is... is that it's all fake."
"What do you mean?" Calla asked.
"You know, fake. They're delicious illusions. You're actually eating grubs." Lujann revealed.
Calla froze as she took a bite of an apple.
"Oh, you mean 'grub' as in, 'Wow, this is some good grub'." Ezra speculated.
"No. Do you see what Phoe-Phoe is eating?" Lujann said, as he pointed and everyone turned to see Phoe-Phoe is eating the bowl of insect larvae.
"That bowl of worms?" Ezra asked.
"Yeah, that's right. Those are grubs!" Lujann said.
A green-faced Calla spits out some larvae, and shrieks in horror. Ezra is also feeling queasy.
"I don't care. This illusion pie is the best I've ever had." Ellis said, paying no mind to Ezra throwing up.
Raylis later joins. "Hey, everybody!"
"Boy, you're in a good mood." Ellis said.
"It does feel good to have two working hands again. Uh... no offense, Aron."
The wolf barks in response, as if saying "none taken".
"I can slish and slash with both swords again!" Raylis said happily as he draws out his two blades. "I can clap." He suddenly stands on top of a small cliff. Do handstands..." Does just that. Then he jumps back down, with the gang clapping him. "I can even do that thing you do when you finish a nice song and dance, you know?" He shakes his hands up. "Yeah! And how's everyone else feeling?"
"Amazing!" Ezra said.
"Great!" Ellis said.
"Fantastic!" Calla said.
"Good! Cause it's time to go."
"What?" The princesses said in unison.
"No, come on!" Ellis complained.
"Why do we have to go?" Ezra asked.
"We've only been here two days." Calla said.
"Danger is coming for us, I know it." Raylis said. "The longer we stay here, the higher the risk."
"He's right." Lujann agreed. "The night the Dragon Princess was born, I sense something amiss. Those strange purple wisps... dark forces are pursuing you."
"Nobody likes dark forces, which is why..." making a gesture that they should continue on their journey.
"Making use of those two hands, huh?" Ezra said.
"You bet." Raylis said. "Besides, we've got precious cargo to deliver." He and the others look to Zym, who's currently eating grubs with Bait and Aron. "War is coming like the world's never seen, unless we get the wee dragon home to her dad."
Zym puts her front right leg on her bowl, but she accidentally flips it over and it landed on Bait.
"But Zym, she's so little. She still needs to learn how to fly." Ezra said.
"You seem to have a special connection to the dragonling." Lujann said. "Perhaps you could teach her?"
"Me? I could try." Ezra said.
"And I was hoping to learn something about Moon Magic while we're here." Calla said.
"Hmm, I could show you some things." Lujann said solemnly.
"Hey! I thought you were on my side!" Raylis complained
"Look, a few more days, Ray, that's all we're asking." Calla plead.
Raylis sighs and relents. "Fine. One extra day. One! But I'm serious about the danger. I'll keep patrolling. Everyone else, stay on your toes!" Then points to Zym. "You! Work on getting off your toes."
Later, Calla spends her time with Lujann to gain knowledge about Moon magic. "I can't believe I'm going to learn magic from a real mage!"
"How do you know I'm real?" Lujann asks. Calla ponders what she feels is a trick question. "Don't worry, I'm real." he said with a smile.
Lujann tours her to some nearby ruins. "This is the Moonhenge. Thousands of years ago, when Xadia was one land, the ancient ancestors of the Moonshadow Elves performed fantastic rituals here." As they reached the middle of the Moonhenge, Lujann draws a ruin in the air and says "Historia Viventem!" Calla eagerly looks around waiting for something to happen. But... nothing. Until she noticed it got a little dimmer and ghostly-looking elves suddenly walked from behind her. And around them. Then magical illusions of how the Moonhenges used to look appear from the ground.
"The legends say they could use the power of the Nexus to open a portal to another plane of existence. A shimmering world beyond life and death!" They see what looks like a get-together of music and dancing.
"But it's ruins now. What happened?" Calla asked. The illusions disappear.
"The Moon Druids destroyed it themselves when Xadia was divided in two. They decided it was safer to disable this magical place." Lujann said sadly.
"That's so sad." Upset that they had to do that.
"Ever since then, there has always been a guardian of the Nexus. A mage, like myself, whose duty is to prevent humans from discovering it."
"What happens when humans do discover it? Do you..." makes a throat-slitting gesture. "kill them?"
Lujann chuckled. "Why kill them when you can break their brains with insane illusions? I've got some real mind melters. They would completely freak your beans. Interested?"
"I'll pass."
Meanwhile, Ezra spends her time tutoring Zym in flying, as Bait looks on in envy.
"Okay, it's time to buckle down and get to work." Ezra said. Bait growls. Zym is standing on a high ledge above them. "Flying is a natural and beautiful thing. Now, that doesn't mean it's going to be easy." Bait grunts loudly. "You don't need to keep doing that." Ezra said to Bait in annoyance. "Ready, Zym? Wings out... and flap!" Ezra moves her arms in a flapping motion. But Zym couldn't do it as she appears scared. "Come on! You have to flap those wings." Zym cranks her head in confusion, making her lose her balance and fall. Ezra gasped. "Are you okay?" Zym climbed back up. "One more time. We'll try it nice and slow. Flaaaaap..." Zym jumps up and spread her wings, but she ends up falling onto Ezra. "That's not flying, but it's a very, very good start." she chuckled. Bait just scoffs and rolls her eyes.
Back at Castle Katolis, Vira makes her way to the untouched chambers of the late Queen Hera. She pauses, seemingly facing a moral dilemma, as she stands in front of the doors that are still covered with arrows from the Moonshadow Elves. She recalls the night of the assassination, and can still hear the shouting and swords clashing. But she pushes the doors open and enters.
She sits on the foot of Hera's bed with her head in her hands, lost in thought. She then notices the small painting Hera had been looking at right before she was assassinated. She picks it up and it is revealed to be a picture of Hera, King Saran, a young Calla and baby Ezra posing for a family portrait. She stares at it for a moment before putting it down and approaching the queen's desk. She pulls the drawer and finds the stamp that bears the queen's seal and steals it for herself.
Raylis is walking around the vicinity of the ruins. He has his two blades out in case he runs into any trouble.
"'Oh, can't we stay a bit longer so I can learn some magic?' And 'Oh, I wanna play around with the wee dragon.'" He said, mocking the princesses. "Humans!" he scoffed. "Only the noble elf cares about keeping us all alive, apparently. There's something about here, I know it. Something bad."
His ears suddenly picked up a rustling sound. He turns to the direction it's coming from, and saw some crows flying away in the distance. Realizing it must be the dark forces Lujann warned them about, he runs towards that spot. Jumping across tree branches, and landed to where he believed the crows were, battle ready with his blades out. He looks around the area for any assailants. He sense someone or... something behind him. He quickly turns around and saw it was the giant spider screeching threateningly at him. "Oh, it's just you." Raylis slumped. Then walks away. "Save it for someone who cares." The spider whimpers.
"And we're back. This time we're here with a special guest. She's mystical, magical, moon-powered and she knows how to fly. Please welcome Phoe-Phoe!" Ezra gestures to the Moon-Phoenix who's standing on top of a tall rock. "Ready, Phoe-Phoe? Show her how it's done." Phoe-Phoe spread it's large wings and flaps. "See? It's easy!" Zym tries to do the same. "Yes! Yes, that's right!" Then Ezra lifts her up. "Now, I'm going to show you what flying feels like."
Ezra starts running around. Ellis claps for them.
"Can you feel it? Can you feel the whoosh of the air beneath your wings?" Ezra asked. Zym chippers happily in response.
"She's doing it! She's amazing!" Ellis said.
"Yes, yes! You can do this!" Ezra exclaims as she threw Zym up in the air, only to be thrown into a bush. She gasped in shock.
"Ezra, you killed the Dragon Princess!" Ellis said.
"Oh no! I was so stupid! Oh, no, no, no!" Ezra aghast, as she ran to the bush to see if Zym is okay.
Zym pops out of the bush, looking no harm to wear. Except being covered in leaves.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't trying to hurt you, I promise. Are you okay?" Ezra said.
Zym just spits out some leaves and chippers happily. Bait grunts.
Lujann and Call walk up an ancient stairway.
"Though Primal Energy is everywhere, it may be weaker or stronger at different times and places. The ocean is strongest at high tides, sky is strongest in the storm, and the moon is strongest-."
"When it's full!" Calla finished.
"Please don't interrupt, but yes. And there is more. There are six special places where the magic of Primal Energies are most pure and powerful in this world. Such a place is called a Nexus."
Lujann takes Calla to a ledge that's overlooking a large large of the Caldera. "This is the Moon Nexus. It reflects the moon perfectly. When the moon is full, its light completely fills the lake."
"I love this. I love learning about magic. But I want you to teach me to do some Moon Magic. You know, maybe some hands-on learning. We get in there, you show me how to do a moon beam, a moon ray, a moon... shine?"
"Humans can't do magic." Lujann stated.
"But I did do magic." Calla insisted.
"Right, with a Primal Stone. But then you smashed it, so now you're just a standard human again. But look on the bright side, you've got those extra fingers. The little ones. What do you call them, pinkos?"
"Pinkies. And I know other humans who do magic."
"We do not call that practice magic. It's an atrocity."
"This can't be. I thought magic was my thing. I was good at it." Calla is upset, realizing that being a mage is not what she was naturally capable of.
"It looks like you could use some cake." Lujann said, as he pulls out a cake with blue frosting and a little display of the Moonhenge on top of it.
"That's really a plate of worms."
"You're too smart for old Lujann's illusions." Lujann chuckled as he threw away the cake. He then pulls out a large bowl of pink-colored ice cream. "How about some nice old-fashioned ice cream, hmm?"
"Worms again."
As the day ends, Ezra and Zym are walking to one of the bedroom domes. Ezra is a little upset as she hasn't made a lot of progress of teaching Zym to fly.
"So, she had a whole day of training. Can she fly now?" Raylis asked.
"No, not yet. I'm doing my best, Raylis." Ezra kneels down to grab Zym. "And so are you. I know you are."
"Well, either way, we're leaving tomorrow. There's danger coming, I know it. We have to get moving."
"I really wanna stay here a little longer to better teach Zym. But you're right, we should all get some rest."
"Not me. I'm going out on patrol again. One more perimeter check." Raylis said as he backs away, bumping into a disappointed Calla.
Calla lies on the ground next to Ezra.
"Tough day?" Ezra asked.
"You could say that." Calla said.
"Us too. Lots of jumping and flapping, but no flying. But we'll get it. No matter how impossible it seems." Ezra looks to Zym. "We believe in ourselves, and we're not giving up."
Ezra's words motivates Calla. "Know what? Neither am I." She gets up and walks off while her sister plays with Zym.
Later that night at Castle Katolis, Vira enters the keep of the Crow Lady, carrying four letters that bear the queen's seal.
"Crow Lady?" Vira calls out to the woman who's looking into one of the caged crows by her desk. When she's unresponsive, Vira clears her throat. "Crow Lady. You! Ma'am! Crow Lady!" The woman finally paid noticed.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I heard you calling for the Crow Lady. She's not here right now."
"Then, you are you?"
"I'm actually the Crow Mistress." She explained. When she's met with silence from Lady Vira, she tries to explain it more. "It's sort of like... Assistant Crow Lady. I just got promoted."
"Congratulations." Vira said uninterestedly. "Are you able to send the mail?"
"Sure, of course I can!" Crow Mistress assured her. When Vira hands her a tray of the seas, Crow Mistress suddenly looks nervous as she stares at them. "Oh, uh..."
"Is there a problem?" Vira asked, but well aware what she's going to say.
"Hmm. These... these have the queen's seal." Crow Mistress said, holding one of the letters up.
"Yes." Vira replied bluntly.
"Well, uh... oh dear. Uh, the queen is... you know..." Crow Mistress puts the letter down and pushes the tray back towards Vira. "I can't send these."
"Hmm. I understand your dilemma. You were recently promoted, yes? And you're trying to do a good job?" Vira questioned.
"Yes. Yes, exactly!" Crow Mistress nodded.
"Right, well then let me be perfectly clear, Crow Mistress." Vira suddenly got intimidating and slams her hands on the Crow Mistress' table. "You will send these to the leaders of the other four leaders immediately. If you refuse, you will also be... you know." She said, threatening Crow Mistress' position.
"Uh, now that I think about it, I'm just gonna go ahead and take care of these for you." The Crow Mistress complies in fear, as she pulls back the tray.
"Mmm, I thought you might." Vira said with a smile.
After Vira left, the Crow Mistress groaned. "I can't believe I'm doing this." she muttered.
When Lujann and Phoe-Phoe return a few hours later, they found Calla standing in front of his door with a determined look. "You're wrong."
"Calla? What are you doing here? It's late."
"I'm never giving up."
"Calla..."
"Growing up, I was supposed to learn how to act like a real princess. How to curtsy, how to ride a horse, learn diplomacy, and even sword-fighting for self-defense, but I was so bad at everything."
"But then, you didn't give up? And you got good? So good that you decide to forget learning about magic all together?" Lujann asked hopefully.
"No, I gave those up." Calla said bluntly, causing Lujann to frown. "But then I tried magic, and it felt right." Calla pets Phoe-Phoe. "It felt like I was finally good at something. I will learn magic. It's who I am."
Lujann sighs. "I admire your determination. But learning magic is not your destiny. You can't do Primal Magic because you weren't born connected to a Primal Source."
"What do you mean, 'connected'?"
"In Xadia, all creatures are born connected to a Primal Source." The moon mage dismount. "They have a piece of it inside them. We call that piece an arcanum."
"And what's an arcanum?"
"It's like... the secret of the Primal, or its meaning." Lujann said, as he looks up at the half-moon in the starry sky.
"The secret of the Primal?" Calla repeated.
"Yes. That secret becomes a spark. The tiniest possible flicker of a Primal Source inside you. But enough to ignite the world with its magic." Lujann said with awe.
"Alright, so what is it? What's the arcanum of the moon?" Calla asked.
"It's something I just... know. It's not easily put into words."
"Well, try. Please!" Calla pleaded.
"Very well. The arcanum of the moon is about understanding the relationship between appearances and reality." Lujann tries to explain, as another Lujann suddenly appears from behind Calla.
"Most people believe that reality is truth and appearances are deceiving." The other Lujann said. "But those of us who know the moon arcanum..."
"...understand we can only truly know the appearance itself." The first Lujann said as he floats around Calla.
A third Lujann emerged from the second one, and speaks. "You can never touch the so-called reality that lies just beyond..."
"...the reach of your own perception." The first one, standing behind Calla, finished.
Bewildered, Calla rubs her eyes and finds only one Lujann standing in front of her. "I'm confused." she said, as it proves difficult for her to comprehend.
"I don't blame you." Lujann said sympathetically, as he puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. "After all, you're only human."
This left Calla very despondent.
She returns to the bedroom dome, where she grabs and directs the cube to Zym and Bait, all bearing a Primal Source. But when Calla directs the cube to herself, nothing glows. She cries herself to sleep.
Raylis continues his perimeter patrol of the area throughout the night. He gradually becomes fatigued by an ocarina playing in the distance. He grabs a blue flower before finally falling asleep.
Emerging from the bushes are the two siblings Claude and Sonja. Claude was playing the tune while Sonja covers her ears. After he finishes, Sonja gives Sonja the clear to kill Raylis. "Do it."
Sonja pulls her sword from her sheath and prepares to go for the kill.