It's longer than i thought, putting it in here instead :D ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE DRAGON~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Silera is a beautiful place. It’s one of the last places where magic still lives, with the Unicorns in the south, the Dragons in the north, and the Centaurs roaming the plains and forests in the west. And in the east? Humans. A small kingdom of them, ruled peacefully by four monarchs. The Fawns live in the Erazi Forest, just outside the Human Capital. It separates the Humans from the Centaur’s territory. Now, this arrangement wasn’t without its problems. Some of the magical races have rejected the rule of the Humans and went rouge. This was most common with the Unicorns, which was lucky, for if the Dragons chose to rebel, there was no way the Humans could have repelled them. It has been a long time since anything of that sort has happened, and monarchs have come and gone. Silera has never been more prosperous. The Dragons have retreated deep into the mountains of their northern home, and if it weren’t for the occasional messenger send down, they could’ve been extinct. Because of that, the new monarchs, Julian and Mallory, have had little experience with the ancient race. Daniel and Aleesha have been around a little longer, but knowledge of Dragons is difficult to come across. The Fawns have greater knowledge and know that finding one in the forest is bad news. Really bad news. So…
“THERE’S A WHAT IN THE FOREST!?” “A-a-a Dragon, my King,” the fawn stuttered, looking up at King Julian. Julian stood on the raised dais of the throne room in Castle Andreas. Sitting next to him, albeit with a worried look, was Mallory. The other two thrones were empty, as they had been for almost a week. Daniel and Aleesha had gone to check out a lead on the rouge unicorn population in the south, leaving Julian and Mallory to take care of the kingdom on their own. Everything had been going smoothly. Until today. They had been planning for the Spring Festival, when the fawn had rushed into the throne room with news of a dragon terrorising the forest, setting fires everywhere. The fires had been nothing the fawns hadn’t been able to sort out, but it was a big nuisance. “Is it a big dragon?” Mallory asked, leaning forward in her chair. “No, no.” the fawn replied, “Just a small one.” Julian began pacing. “Well, we can’t just leave it there.” “You’re not seriously considering going out there alone!” Mallory said, concerned, “We should wait for Daniel and Aleesha.” Julian shook his head. “They’re not due back for another couple of days. If I wait for them, who knows what the dragon will do? And with the added time it will take me to travel,” Julian stopped pacing. “We can’t risk it.” Mallory wasn’t convinced. “After all, it’s only a small dragon,” Julian turned towards the fawn. “Right?” The fawn nodded. “Yes, only a small one.” Julian turn back to Mallory. “See?” he said, gesturing to the fawn. “Only a small one. I can deal with one, small dragon.” Mallory finally nodded, but she didn’t look enthusiastic. ================================================================================== He arrived at the suspected lair of the dragon in just under three days. Julian dismounted, then pushed through the thicket. He arrived in the middle of a clearing, with beautiful scenery. The trees were in full bloom, and the sky was clear. But that wasn’t what drew Julian’s eye. “A small dragon!?” Julian yelled, rolling aside to avoid being roasted by the flames. “This is SMALL!?” It was fifteen metres long, with wings twice as long as it’s body. Its scales were goldish brown. The dragon roared, forcing Julian to clasp his hands over his ears. He drew his sword, but he knew it was no match for this monster. ================================================================================== Daniel and Aleesha arrived at Castle Andreas to a very distressed Mallory. “Where’s Julian?” Daniel asked, looking around the courtyard. “He went off to deal with a Dragon!” Mallory cried. “On his own?” Daniel asked, incredulous. Mallory nodded, too upset for words. Daniel wheeled his horse around, and Aleesha mirrored the action “Then we’d better go help him!” ================================================================================== The Dragon took another swipe at Julian, forcing him to roll out of the way again. He realised that there was no way he could beat this Dragon alone. He prepared himself for his inevitable doom. THUNK! An arrow slammed into the Dragon’s flank. The Dragon roared in pain, as another two arrows flew out of the bushes. Suddenly, two riders galloped into the clearing! Aleesha stopped when she reached the edge of the clearing, but Daniel dismounted and sped over to where Julian was standing, still desperately trying to dodge the Dragon’s claws. Julian’s focus returned to the dragon a few seconds too late. He saw its claws descending, ready to tear him to shreds. Julian raised his sword, otherwise defenceless. The claws descended. CLANG! The Dragon tore through the surcoat on Daniel’s shield, where he had raised it just in time. Aleesha let loose another two arrows, the first hitting its flank, the second it’s wing. Together, Daniel and Julian attacked the Dragon, slashing and stabbing, while Aleesha continued to shoot it from a distance. Their weapons did little damage, but the Dragon seemed to think that it was too much work to stick around. With a final roar, it spread its wings and flew off. Julian dropped his sword and sank to his knees, emotionally drained. Daniel sat down next to him and put his arm around Julian’s shoulders. Aleesha strode over and joined them. Daniel and Aleesha were filled with relief and fear. What had happened was just… unbelievable. “Why’d you go off and do a stupid thing like that?” Daniel mumbled. “Almost got us killed!” Julian just shook his head, unable to form words. Together, they watched the Dragon fly into the distance. Should i take the description out? It wasn't originally part of the story, but i didn't want it to be too confusing. I'm an artist normally, so forgive me if this is terrible - Roka Word Count: 974
