Dragónia

Nightshade-

"Don't look at me like that," I said to Oren. He turned away bitterly. "Still indecisive?" I asked.

"What does it look like?" He grumbled.

I rolled my silvery eyes. "No need to snap. It was only a question."

"Well it's a little obvious, isn't it?"

I scowled at him. "Just because you're older doesn't mean you can talk to me like that."

"Please. I'm over a hundred years older than you are. I have every right in the world."

Sometimes my brother's stubborn attitude made me want to smack him, but I never did. I wasn't nearly as immature as I was when we were young. I exhaled deeply and a thin black smoke billowed out of my mouth as I did so.

"No you don't," I said, and walked up to him. "Now. You need to stop beating about the bush. I know it's a big responsibility, but as the oldest, it's one you need to be taking seriously. It's an honor you should be glad to accept."

"Then why don't you do it?" He snapped.

I looked at him sternly. "You know I can't. Maybe being the eldest isn't such a good thing after all?"

"Hmph." He grunted sarcastically.

I put an arm around his shoulder. "I'm not asking you to say right now. But tensions between the humans and dragons are growing worse and worse."

His cold blue eyes moved to my face. They were clouded with sadness.

---

Ahh! Can't think of anything else!! Lol

~Rayne

Reale

I stood, stunned. I had only ever seen Elon before, never another Dragon. Especially not one larger than her, that was for sure. He eyed me curiously as the others regarded me as 'the girl with no name'. Finally, angered by their persistence, I blurted;

"My name is Reale Corte. I prefer to just be called Rea," everyone stopped and looked at me. Suddenly shy, I realized that the tone in my voice had depicted anger. I was normally very kind to strangers, this was not like me at all. Trying to think of an excuse, I crossed my arms and rolled onto the balls of my feet. "I'm sorry for my rashness, please do forgive me."

"No matter," Mikael said, walking towards me. Mister Wink looked angry, but then again, he was a troll. "Like I've already told you, we've no time for pleasantries. Please, we really must move on." With that, he set off at a fast pace. One I could surely match, of course, but chose not to. The girl; Karli, as Saber had called her, was who I wanted to catch up with.

"What do you mean barely human?" I asked her, trying to keep my voice low.

Elon

My head sunk low into the cool waters of the river as I drank as much as my body would handle. I had flown long, far, and very hard to escape the soldiers. My only thought now was to cool down, and of Reale. Even though dragon's had no God, I desperately prayed to one that she would remain unharmed.

I lifted my head from the water and unfolded my right wing. I counted, as Reale had taught me how to do, the holes in my right wing. Seven, As I closed my eyes and relaxed, my preparations to heal were interrupted by a large splash.

In the river in front of me, another dragon had landed. Not crashed, luckily. It seemed as if she lived here. Wanting to know where I was, exactly, I dived in after her and followed her to a cave.

Karli

"Well, technically, I am human," I told her. "But I don't like to consider myself one of them. I never learned how to be a 'human' in the first place."

"Really?" She asked, interested. "What do you mean by that?"

I looked away, leading the others towards the den Aurora and I had created just in case. "It's not a very happy story."

"Oh. Well you don't have to tell me, if you don't want," she replied, blushing a little.

I smiled to show her that was not what I meant. "No. It's fine."

"When I was about three years old, my parents were killed. They were hunters. They slayed dragon after dragon and practically any other creature that got in there way. It was only a matter of time before an angered family member decided to seek revenge," I sighed.

"That's...terrible," Rea gasped. I nodded.

"I told you this wasn't a very happy story. The worst part about it is that I'm glad they were killed. I wouldn't want murderers raising me. I was raised by mythical creatures here in the forest. That's how I know the area and I'm glad for that. I would never have met Saber or Aurora if I hadn't."

"Aurora?" Rea asked.

"Oh, she's a unicorn. She's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. She's the reason I'm alive today. Well, her and Saber. As you know, technically I AM still human and so Saber and Aurora take on the job of protecting me when I can't. Some creatures don't really take to me too well," I sighed. I remembered that oh so clearly.

Saber was running back towards me. I had asked him to scout the area around the den for me. I grinned at him just as I used to when I was little. Except...he wasn't grinning back.

I took off before Rea could ask anymore questions. I needed to see what was going on.

"How's the den looking?" I asked. I tried to be inconspicuous about looking Saber over for any wounds, but of course, he noticed anyway.

**Maybe a group of humans could have followed Saber or something? Add to the drama ^^

Lol Rayne that was fine! Guys, I also forgot to add that Oren is the personification of the element air, as another power. But he doesn't know this yet

Oren

Oren's mood lightened ever so slightly with the assurance of his sister, but it still could not lift the weight of his shoulders. With a lengthy sigh, he suggested darkly to his sister, "Perhaps we should call a council. See who is on our side first." He shrugged offhandedly, as Nightshade removed her arm from his shoulder to brush a tendril of silver hair from her eyes.

"Oren, you and I both know that could be dangerous. I'm aware that people whp support the dragons will attend, but don't you think some unwelcome members of the kingdom may show up?"

He grunted again, turning away from her and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Ha. As if they could get by me. I'd give them a reason to fear dragons." A shadow of his cocky lopsided grin appeared upon his face momentarily. It disappeared as he turned gravely to his sister. "But it's the only chance I've got to prove to everyone I can do this... even if I don't want to."

She dipped her head in a short nod. "If you think that is what we should do, then we will."

Anneliese could hear the dragon behind her, following her to the cave. She frowned as she darted underwater, trying to leave the other creature behind before she got to the den's entrance.

No luck. Damn! I was hoping for peace!

She clambered out of the water into an open space. The cavern was spacious, standing a hundred feet at the tallest point and several hundred feet from one side to the other. A ledge rose in the back corner, partially concealed by stalagmites and stalagtites. An airvent was open to the sky directly above the ledge.

Anneliese turned as the other dragon followed her out of the water and onto the dry land. "Who are you? Why did you follow me?" she asked, voice soft as always.

***It's someone else's turn.***

I hope you don't mind another author...

Name: Artalion Sen'der

Creature: Gryphon

Age: 13

Appearance: Half Eagle half lion. Brown feathers and fur. He wears flight webbing, which allows him to carry his gear while in flight.

Personality: Artalion is an aviator. He loves a challenge, especially one which requires precision flying. He is a "Can do!" kind of guy. He volunteers frequently and does so in order to show off just how good he is. Extremely competitive.

Power: Mastery over the air. He is able to summon up air currents over a short distance. This allows him to perform extreme aerial maneuvers as well as offensive and defensive tactics.

Background: Gryphons grow up very fast. By age three he was fully fledged. By ten, he had been certified as a Master Aviator. He is a member of the elite Gryphon Rangers. He deals with both humans and dragons, so he would like to bring peace between the two factions, especially if it brings him glory in the process.

Other: He is armed with steel talons, which are worn over his own talons. They are capable of matching swords in battle.

**Come on guys! Post! Do NOT let this die. ):**

Karli

Saber looked back alarmed. "The den's being searched. Only the top part. You keep most of your stuff out of human reach, correct?" He asked. I nodded.

"I need to go back and check out the place. Aurora may still be there," I gasped. I took off with Saber at my heels.

"It's dangerous," I told him. "The others still need a safe passage out. Go on back."

"I'm not leaving you with those beasts alone," Saber replied.

"You know I'm smarter and faster than those half-wits," I laughed. "Please, I led them into the forest. They're sitting ducks right now."

Saber sighed. "If you get hurt, I'll have no one to run through the forest with, you know. Just-just take care of yourself. You can get a little too cocky sometimes, you know."

Saber took off just as I reached the den. I hid behind the largest of the trees around there. A human was looking at something just at the foot of my home.

"It's a footprint!" He yelled. "A human, girl footprint!" I cursed lightly. Normally I never left footprints. I always got careless near my home. No one ever came this deep into the forest.

"Poor girl. One of the beasts must have taken her here. She's probably dead now," another sighed. "This is why they all must be killed or tamed.

I swallowed the bile in my throat. They were the animals! They didn't know how kind, and caring some of the others were. They didn't know Saber or Aurora.

"What's that?" Another guy asked. "Behind that tree."

"You pansy," the guy from before laughed. I could tell he was just as scared. I grinned. Even with there metal weapons, they were all scared. As they should be. "There ain't nothing there."

I grabbed a sword from the side of my stomach. I was careful to never cut myself when I ran. I needed it for times like this. I hated to kill. Even such a foul creature as a human, but I had to defend myself. If that human checked behind this tree, I was screwed. They had guns, I had knifes.

Artalion

Sneaking up behind humans isn't all that difficult. They tend to only look around them, rarely do they look up. This makes sneaking up on them as easy as jumping down from a tall tree and landing silently. It was one of my specialties.

"I wouldn't be so sure," I said. They turned around and their eyes bugged out. I saw one of the guns come up and I swatted it to the side before it discharged. I hit him with the back of my talons, sending him to the tree. The other man was frozen in place, a quick hit to the stomach knocked him down and his gun went flying.

When I looked back, the guy by the tree had a knife out.

"Stay back gryphon, we have no quarrel with you," he said.

"Your laws state that you can not approach a dragon's den. The penalty for poaching is death," I said.

"That was before the dragons turned on us. We've got a license to hunt the dragons, nice and legal. Read it for yourself," he said, tossing a piece of paper to the ground. I could see it perfectly clear and reading it took little time.

"Your license permits you to hunt dragons, but it doesn't give you permission to enter their territory. You may hunt the dragons if they are outside a two hundred foot radius of their den. You were planning on using these guns?"

"Yes."

"You're lucky I got to you first, these things don't have enough power to kill a dragon. By
the time it did, you'd all ready be dead. You and your friend may leave, but without your weapons. It will be safer for you both if you stick to smaller game. Leave now," I said, extending my talons. He saw the outstretched claws and backed off. He collected his friend and they disappeared into the woods. Once they had left, I breathed a sigh of relief and began collecting the guns.

The guns were small pistols. They carried a single shot and would take a couple of minutes to reload. Very inaccurate, a dragon would be able to incinerate them before they even got within range of a lucky shot.

I turned suddenly as a twig snapped.

"Who's there!"

***I'm still waiting on FinalFreedom to write... But I'll let you know that my internet at home is currently down, and I have no idea when it will be back up again. I'm having to use the school's computers to write this message.***

HELLOOO!!!!!!!!

I'm back from Cali!!! Sorry to those of you that didn't know I was gone I'll just finish this up and I'll catch up on EVERYTHING and post, I PROMISE!!!

It's good to be home ^^

~Rayne

*sorry about the delay*

Elon

"Who are you? Why did you follow me?" the other dragon demanded.

"I am a dragon, or can you not tell?" I replied, slightly perturbed. Maybe she believed I worked for the humans; well, and ignorant belief that would be. After all, I had just been shot with arrows by them. "I am Elon, and you are?"

Um...okay, let me see if I can figure this out... FinalFreedom, in your last post for Reale, who was the dragon you were talking about? Were you talking about Saber? Because if so, he's not a dragon. He's a wolf. With wings lol. If not, I have no idea who you were talking about O_o

Nightshade-

I turned away from Oren and left him with his thoughts. I walked slowly back down the hallway and into an enormous room, where father always used to call meetings together. I sighed at the memory of my father. He was a great ruler, and had always taken kindly to Maelstrom, the accursed brute who had turned on him. I moved to the opposite side of the great room where there was a large balcony and on it, I changed into my dragon form and sailed through the high trees.

Every creature knew right away upon seeing me that it was urgent. I saw lots of small and large animals alike race towards the palace as I flew low through the forest. When my rounds were completed, I went back to the balcony, and in the room, all the loyal dragons had already gathered.

I sat next to the high seat, where Oren sat, looking horribly uncomfortable. Slowly but surely, animals and creatures began pouring into the room, anxious to hear the news.

Saber-

I was on my way back to the group when the dragon princess, Nightshade, flew by me. I watched her nervously, then picked up my flight pace and quickly got back to the group.

"C'mon guys. They're summoning us at the dragon palace. We have to go now." Reale stared at me in awe. It was obvious that she was fascinated by dragons.

"Dey no truss hooman," Mr. Wink said.

I stared at him. "You're with me. They know me well."

"What about Karli?" Mikael asked. "We can't leave her."

"She wants us to. She sent me away," I informed them. "Now please. Or I'll go alone and leave you all here. We'll be safe from the humans there." They all agreed and we ran towards the palace.

"What if Karli finishes whatever she was doing?" Mikael asked. "How will she find us again?"

"Karli is smart. She'll either meet someone who can help her or she can track us down."

Finally, we reached the dragon palace. The small - but nonetheless powerful - guards out front were hesitant about letting a couple humans in, but when I explained, they moved aside. In the great room, I found Oren and Nightshade up on the stand where the great king used to preside. I smiled.

"Ah, what a fine king you make indeed, Oren," I called to him.

He looked at me quickly. "I'm no king," he replied quietly.

"Oh?" I asked.

"He still needs to step up and take the position," his sister said. I nodded.

"Apologies, your highness. You are still a prince though, correct?" I asked him. He nodded and I returned with a bow. In here too, creatures were fearful of the humans. As we moved into the room, we received nervous looks from everyone. Nightshade stood slowly. "They're with me," I said. "I can assure you, they're trustworthy. They were running from humans when I came across them."

Nightshade nodded slowly and sat back down.

---

Whew! Done!

Oren

Oren nodded in the direction of Saber's group of friends.

"Pleasure to meet you all." He smiled kindly but it did not reach his eyes. Sorrow still plagued them, making their usually saphire irises seem dull and grey. "Saber, you said you were being chased by humans?" He eyed the humans of the group a little suspiciously, shifting slightly.

"A long story for another time, your Highness," one from the group replied.

"Yes. Nightshade has summoned the people for a reason- an important one I presume. They await your appearance."

Oren nodded stiffly, standing and bowing low to the newcomers. "Nice to meet you. I will meet up with you again, after I address the public."

With that, he and Nightshade left them in the hall, walking out onto a balcony to look down at the crowd that swelled below them. His nervousness dwindled for a moment; there seemed to be many people still on his side.

He rested his hand upon the balcony railing for a moment as hundreds of eyes settled upon him.

"I ask you to listen, my loyalties."

"We will listen," murmured the crowd back to him. Oren paused for a moment in thought, before continuing.

"I thank every one of you for attending, and for maintaining your trust with me and my sister. Many have turned their backs on me, and I do not blame them, for I am not worthy to wear my father's crown."

The crowd gasped a little, but Oren continued on with his speech. "[/b]

Oren nodded in the direction of Saber's group of friends.

"Pleasure to meet you all." He smiled kindly but it did not reach his eyes. Sorrow still plagued them, making their usually saphire irises seem dull and grey. "Saber, you said you were being chased by humans?" He eyed the humans of the group a little suspiciously, shifting slightly.

"A long story for another time, your Highness," one from the group replied.

"Yes. Nightshade has summoned the people for a reason- an important one I presume. They await your appearance."

Oren nodded stiffly, standing and bowing low to the newcomers. "Nice to meet you. I will meet up with you again, after I address the public."

With that, he and Nightshade left them in the hall, walking out onto a balcony to look down at the crowd that swelled below them. His nervousness dwindled for a moment; there seemed to be many people still on his side.

He rested his hand upon the balcony railing for a moment as hundreds of eyes settled upon him.

"I ask you to listen, my loyalties."

"We will listen," murmured the crowd back to him. Oren paused for a moment in thought, before continuing.

"I thank every one of you for attending, and for maintaining your trust with me and my sister. Many have turned their backs on me, and I do not blame them, for I am not worthy to wear my father's crown."

The crowd gasped a little, but Oren continued on with his speech. "My father was braver abd stronger than I, and would have acted against Maelstrom a long time ago. But I will prove myself to every one of you by taking action against him and his army."

The crowd cheered a little, but it died after a few seconds. Nightshade began to speak beside him.

"What we ask of you isn't easy, but it is the only way to end this battle and not let our loved ones die in vain."

Oren picked up again, saying something that he knew would irritate his sister. She hated fighting, but Oren could not see another way out of this one.

"Every person who is able, I ask you, fight for your kingdom!"

Oren felt the glare of his sister but the sudden rush of adrenaline at the excited roar from the crowd below him.

Anneliese crouched low in submissiveness. She hated confrontations, especially with other dragons as fierce as Elon appeared to be.

"Anneliese," she replied. "But why are you here? Why did you follow me?"

That was when the young dragoness noticed the wounds on Elon. Are those...arrows? Yes, they are! She whined, perking up slightly. "You're hurt..."