Prologue: The begining

The lighting crawled across the sky. Uruba had never seen a storm this mighty in all his years of being leader of the Garsha. Maybe this was a sign, or just a natural storm passing by. Atleast the Tanji weren't demanding his land. That was a first. Uruba then stopped watching the storm and turned his attention to his friends and family. They were all asleep. Silent as mice. Nothing could be heard, apart from the storm. The old leader was suprised that they were all sleeping peacefully through the deafening sound of lighting. He sat on the ledge, looking at the lighting. It had been going non-stop for about an hour. Surely this was a sign from the sprits of the dead? Uruba lifted his head up and called for the spirts. "Sprits, hear me as I chant this words below you!" He cried. "What are you trying to show me?" The old dragon waited for a reply. But nothing came. Uruba was concerned now. Why had the sprits ignored him? Suddenly, a mighty flash appeared, more brighter than the lighting. In front of Uruba appeared a tall dragon, but his skin was invisable. The only thing visable was a white outline around his body, face and claws. He was one of the sprits of the dead that lived in the clouds. Uruba jumped back, shocked by the sudden appearence.
"Uruba, we have summoned you." The sprit said gravely. "For bad news."
"Why?" Uruba questioned. The dead dragon gave a small sigh. "The Tanji have grown too strong for the Garsha. You may have to surrender." Uruba's eyes blazed angrily. "We Garsha never back down! We fight until death gets the better of us!"
"You must learn to control your temper, Uruba. You will never win with a monster temper." The spirt reminded him gently. "And besides, I hadn't finished." Uruba glared at him. "Go on."
"As I was saying, you may

have to surrender. But a prophecy has come. If you will actually listen to me instead of getting fiesty, then I will spill the beans."
"I'm listening now."
"8 dragons from the Garsha will join up to fight the Tanji and win. However, they don't know who they are. They will have to find the power in themselves."
"Wait, hold on. I lost you there. What power?"
"You'll find out soon enough." The sprit then started to fly up and fade into the sky, which was now a starry blanket. Uruba was confused. Who were the mystery 8 that were the answer to his problem?

Kiru and her brothers

"Kiru! Pass the dang rock!" A small dragon groaned loudly. Kiru opened her eyes and looked up at the dragon. She snorted and rolled over a small rock. "Learn to actually control the rock, Jabam. Some dragons feel sorry for me that you're my brother." She complained, a sour look on her face. Jabam growled and picked up the rock in his jaws before throwing it across the den. However, he hit a small elder dragon, who had been sleeping peacefully since dawn. She got up and roared loudly. "Which one of you threw that at me?" Kiru pointed her muzzle at Jabam. "He did it." She mumbled grumpily. The elder roared and charged at Jabam, snarling. They rolled back and forth, wrestling.
"Stop that now!" A voice yelled. It was Uruba, the leader. He locked his jaws around Jabam's neck and dragged him off the elder. "You've caused too much trouble this week." Kiru sighed, knowing this was true. Her brother had already frightened the hatchlings with a gory horror story, tricked the second-in-command into thinking that the Tanji were attacking, almost allowed 2 eggs to tumble down the mountain, attacked one of the junior dragons and hit several elders with his rock. Uruba had nearly exploded due to this actions, and had tried to punish him. But these punishments were doing nothing. Kiru knew someone would die as a result of her brother's dangerous play, which he actually considered fun. Maybe even he would die because of it. Silently, she left the den and looked at the sun as it climbed the sky. Prehaps today would be a quiet day.
"Kiru? Where are you?" The little dragon turned her head around to see one of the hatchllings, Suma. "Your ma wants you. You might want to go and see her." Kiru scrambled down the ledge and flew up into the clouds. She could see all of the Garsha territory from the sky, along with the Tanji. The view was breathtaking. But Kiru had no time to gaze at the world beneath her feet. Remembering what Suma had told her, she swooped down and into a small cave. In here sat a large, yellow female dragon. She was sitting on 4 eggs and nursing 3 hatchlings. This was Kiru's mother- a determained dragon who would jump off a cliff to save her children. She had many, with Kiru as the 3rd and the only girl. Jabam was a couple of years older than Kiru, but this didn't bother her. Kiru gazed into her mother's kind, emerald eyes. "Suma told me that you wanted to see me." The tall female dragon sat up and nudged the hatchlings towards her. "Yes, I did." She said with a smile. "Didn't you want to find out about your new siblings?" Kiru nodded. Please let them be girls. She thought to herself. "Well?"
"1 girl and 3 boys. You have a sister." The female dragon replied cheerfully. "Isn't that great?" Kiru was over the moon. Finally! She actually had a sister! Just as her mother had finished speaking, a large shadow appeared at the entrance. It was only Bolla, Kiru's father. He came over to the female and smiled. "Hello, Colli." Kiru greeted her father by giving him a playful shove. Bolla was a good-hearted dragon as well as a fantastic father to her. He shoved her back, but one of the mothers caught him. "You be careful, Bolla. Kiru's only a ickle one, aren't you?" She said sternly. This was Suma's mother, Gankad. She was on the brink of death, but she lived her life like she was one of the hatchlings. However, she barely remembered everyone's ages, so she thought Kiru was still a hatchling, despite she was actually one of the main cave guards. This irritated her, but Colli had told her to say nothing to Gankad. After all, everyone knew what happened when you got on the wrong side of Gankad. She'd skin you alive. Kiru was shocked that Suma wasn't frightened of her mother. But this wasn't Gankad's own fault, as she had been a prisoner of the Tanji before she was rescued. Kiru decided to leave the den and check up on Jabam and her other brothers. She was one of 8, including the 3 hatchlings Colli was nursing. They were called Liki, Topran and Ushi. When she was off duty, Kiru taught them some battle moves. Topran was the best, but only because he was bigger than his two brothers. Kiru adored them all, and obviously didn't have a favourite. She treated them all equally. Colli wanted Kiru to mentor one of them when they became juniors, but Kiru had only been a den guard for half a year, and she needed 2 years experience before she could take on a junior. Jabam and her older brother Maljo already had taken on juniors. Maljo was a bit like Jabam in some ways, but he would never attempt some of the things Jabam did. Maljo was just loud and a bit bossy. When Kiru hatched, he had had rows with Colli, just because she was a girl, and according to his friend Soll, girls were useless and weaker than a hatchling. This wasn't true though, of course. Kiru had never liked him or Jabam, they were a bad influence on the younger ones.
"Kiruuuu!!!" A voice yelled from the ledge. Kiru swooped down and saw Janik, the 5th sibling. He was a junior, mentored by a small dragon called Falmen, one of Kiru's friends. Janik was loyal and considered the joker by several dragons, because he tried to make jokes and cheer everyone up. He hated fuss, like Kiru. In fact, anything to do with fuss or the Tanji. Janik would turn his nose up and say "What a load of hoo-ha! Humf!" This made Kiru laugh, and sometimes thankful that she had brothers. But with Jabam around, Kiru's life was difficult. Every day, all day, Jabam would be punished atleast twice for doing something stupid. Uruba said every time "You aren't going to get friends by acting stupid. Even the dumbest dragons actually know how to act sensiblely." Kiru was tired of this, as was everyone else. Some of the elders even said he should be exiled.
Of course, Kiru didn't just have 6 brothers. She had one more, Bandai. He was silent and barely spoke. Many dragons agreed that Bandai would make a good spy, because he was so quiet. Uruba rejcted this idea, simply because he had only been a hunter for 3 months and was too young and inexperienced. Only the best dragons were spies. Kiru knew she would never be a spy, but this never bothered her. She didn't want to be a spy anyways, she wanted to be either a cave guard or a fighter.
"Help! Someone help us!" Kiru stopped daydreaming and rushed up to the ledge. From where she was, she could see a small patrol of 3 Garsha dragons. They flew down and landed, panting. Uruba greeted them. "What happened?"
"It's the Tanji!" One of them panted. "They've killed one of the hatchlings!"

A warning

"Killed?" Uruba echoed. "Who? Why?" Kiru heart skipped a beat. Which innocent hatchling had died so soon? The smallest dragon coughed and looked up. "It was Helsa, Jankoo's daughter." He squeaked. "The Tanji have warned us to leave the mountains, or they'll kill us all!"
"That's not going to happen." A voice groaned from the den. It was Espian, the fortune teller and Kiru's best friend. "We're strong. And remember, Garsha are not chickens. We don't surrender. Right, Uruba?" The leader hesitated, but eventually nodded. "Yes. Espian's right. We won't back down." He replied uncertainly. Kiru shivered, but plodded back into the den. Janik greeted her. "What happened out there? Trell told us that one of the hatchlings were slaughtered."
"Helsa was murdered by the Tanji." Kiru sighed sadly. "They broke into the hatchling's den and killed her. Poor little thing didn't stand a chance." Janik sniffed, but looked his sister in the eye. "Uruba's will kill 'em, won't he?" Kiru shrugged. "Probably. Helsa was his granddaughter, after all." She left her brother and climbed up the eldge. However, someone dragged her tail. "Oh no you don't!" Kiru gave a small hiss of annoyence and clambered down. It was only Espian. "You know what happened to Helsa. Do you really want to risk your life?"
"I'm only flying around." Kiru mumbled grumpily. "I'd like to know if my mother and my little brothers are ok."
"The Tanji weren't in the hatchling den too long ago. There still might be spies up there, waiting for another Garsha dragon to fall in their traps." Espian protested. "Please, do what I say. I don't want you getting injured up there." Kiru snorted. "You sound like my parents." She climbed up the ledge swiftly and set off to the hatchling den. She could hear Espian calling after her, but who gave him the right to stop her checking on her family? Swiftly, she flew through the sky, feeling the breeze against her scales. The air stung her eyes, but she didn't care. It happened to everyone who flew at a fast speed. She eventually landed down on a small ledge and ran in. The hatchlings were wailing and screeching like crazy, whilst Colli and Gankad were comforting them. Kiru plodded over. "Are you alright? Do you want me to help?" She asked. Gankad stared at the little dragon. "Dearie, you're just a hatchling." She cooed. "Go back with your brothers, and your mama will come over and deal with you later." Colli gave a small, threating growl towards the old dragon, but turned to her daughter. "Well, Jankoo needs some help carry Helsa's dead body to the main cave. Prehaps you can help with that, along with comforting Jankoo. She's heartbroken." She suggested. Kiru nodded. "Ok!" She said cheerfully, approaching the other female dragon slowly. Jankoo was wailing and touching her muzzle into Helsa's limp body.
"I heard the news. I'm really, really sorry." Kiru started. The young female dragon looked up at her and sniffed. "Yeah." Kiru nudged the dead body of Helsa and flicked her tail to the exit. "Come on Jankoo, we'd better get her over to the main den so everyone can pay respects to her before she joins the sprits of the dead." Jankoo nodded and rose from the ground. She, with the help of Kiru, carried Helsa's dead body out and flew into the sky. The ground was so far down, if anyone fell down there, they would perish for sure. The two females swooped down to the ledge and clambered down. Many dragons crowded round them, looking at Helsa's limp body in their jaws. Uruba roared loudly and everyone fell into silence. The leader dipped his head in respect towards Jankoo. "I am so sorry for Helsa's death." He then glared cold at Kiru. "Espian wants to see you. Now." Kiru gave a small hiss of annoyence and plodded over. The dens were seperated by tunnels, which the dragons travelled down to reach certain dens. Espian was the future-teller, so his den was seperated from everyone else. Kiru slid down on her back in the tunnels and finally got into Espian's den. He was throwing leaves and rocks up in the air, whilst Aprika, one of Kiru's friends, watched in intrest. They fell down to the ground and Espian looked at her. "Your future is looking bright. But you must control your temper if you are to succeed." He said cheerfully. Aprika jumped up and down excitedly and left. Espian turned to Kiru. "You're alive!" He rushed over and rubbed his head against her shoulder. "I thought you'd died!"
"Course not." Kiru snorted grumpily. "Uruba said you wanted to see me." Espian stood up. "Ah. That. Well, come over here." He led Kiru towards where he had been fortelling Aprika's fortune. His tail flicked over to some black stones on the ground. "I decided to see if any bad news is coming our way from the Tanji," He said. "and the stones had spoken of a prophecy. 8 dragons from the Garsha will find a power within them, join up and defeat the Tanji." Kiru's ears pricked up in intrest. "But with all of the Garsha's combinded strength, even we cannot defeat them. It would be just pure luck if we won any battles." She ponited out. Espian nodded his head. "Yes, I know that. But I was thinking the 8 might be you and your brothers." Kiru rolled her eyes. "Jabam and Maljo are too stupid to have powers. The whole thing is impossible."
"I said I was thinking

it might be that."
"No need to be so fierce, Espian. You're not genrally someone considered to be fierce, unless you've got a temper like Gankad."
"Oh ha ha, very funny." The two dragons giggled quietly, but they knew this was serious. It wasn't funny. Espian gave a little cough and flicked his tail towards where he ate prey. "Could you do me a favour and ask one of the hunters to see if they could get some prey for me?" He asked. Kiru nodded. "I can hunt too, ya know. I don't just stand around, guarding caves." She snorted. Espian laughed a bit. "Ok, ok, you can. Try and get me a goat or something." In a flash, Kiru flew out.

Within a couple of minutes, Kiru was flying around, scanning below for any prey. She was thinking of swooping down lower, but with the Tanji being such a threat, it was sucicide down below. And if she swooped too close to the peaks of the mountains of the Garsha territory, she would get stabbed by the sharp peaks. Kiru didn't fancy joining the spirits just yet.
Suddenly, she felt someone fly past her swiftly, wings flapping wildly. Kiru then only realised it was Tarnack, one of the youngest hunters. She was exhausted, and Kiru then felt very scared. "What's happened?" She asked anxiously. Tarnack looked at her, fear and panic in her eyes. "It's the bigger Tanji dragons... they've been chasing me... trying to kill me." She panted. Kiru looked over her shoulder, and saw 4 large Tanji dragons flying at top speed. Swiftly, she shoved her friend forward and flew along beside her, encouraging Tarnack to fly faster when the Tanji drew nearer.
"Come to us, Garsha scum!" One of them jeered. Kiru muttered a few curse words and flapped her wings quicker. Meanwhile, Tarnack was making distress calls, down towards the mountains, where her calls echoed through the caves. But no one was coming to help the young dragons. Kiru then saw a small gap between two mountains, and pointed it out to Tarnack. "Fly through there, the Tanji dragons are too big to fit and they'll have to fly over it. That way then, we have the advantage of getting away!" Tarnack nodded, and followed her friend as they gracefully glided through the gap. The Tanji dragons halted at the gap, but then flew up swiftly, angry that the Garsha dragons had brains.
The chase had gone on for 10 minutes when Kiru realised Tarnack was struggling to keep up. She looked so weak and tired, Kiru thought she was going to stop and fall to the ground. Kiru gently nudged her shoulder. "We can't give up hope, someone will help us." Tarnack nodded uncertainly, but she showed determaination in her eyes. Kiru then noticed a small ledge, not too far down. "We'll swoop down there, because we can glide quicker than the Tanji. Then I'll hide you and lure the Tanji away." She decided. On her signal, the two female dragons swooped down, leaving the Tanji confused.
When Kiru and Tarnack got to the ledge, Kiru hid Tarnack in a small cave. "Wait here until I get you." She said. Kiru then ventured out, and called to the Tanji. "Catch me if you can!" The Tanji dragons roared angrily and swooped down, chasing Kiru across the sky.
Kiru knew she would have to stop soon, for she did not have the strength to continue on. Her wings hurt so much, like they were tied up with chains. Tiredly, she stopped flying and let herself fall, faster and faster.
"Failure!" One of the Tanji jeered, hooting with laughter. Kiru just shut her eyes, knowing she would die with honour.
Suddenly, a loud battle cry was heard from the sky. Kiru opened her eyes and saw 8 Garsha dragons charging at the Tanji dragons, hissing and roaring. One of them then looked down and cried "Kiru!" Then they glided down swiftly, but Kiru was likely to fall and die. Kiru waited for her body to hit the ground, and for the pain to explode through her bones. But it seemed to be taking longer. The little she-dragon opened her eyes and saw she was rising up, slowly rising higher.
"Hold on." A muffled voice called below. Kiru couldn't lift her head to see who her saviour was, so she just remained still, thanking the sprits. She then saw that the Tanji that had been chasing after her and Tarnack had been driven off, and Tarnack was waiting with the other dragons. "Come on, let's go home." She said simply.

The news of the rescue had spread around the dens like bees to honey. Kiru was shocked how fast it had got around. She was laying in a den, but she had her eyes tightly shut. The only reason she knew about the news was because she overheard Uruba talking to Colli and Bolla about it.
Suddenly, she saw a shadow at the den. It was quite small, but Kiru had no idea who it was. It then plodded forward. "You alright? You nearly died."
"Yeah." Kiru replied. "Who the heck are you?" The shadow just laughed. "I am a friend who you don't see very much because I am busy doing my job in my den, which you are in." Kiru sniffed the air. It smelt of forest and weird, yummy things. She gave a small smile. "Espian?"
"Yes, it is me. By the way, I am the one who saved you." Espian replied cheerfully. Kiru looked at her friend. "B-But you can't fly that fast!" She explained. "How on earth..." She didn't finish, because Espian had left the den, head down. Kiru gave a short sigh and rested her whole body flat on the ground, letting sleep claim her at last.

Sickness

When Kiru awoke from her long sleep, it was night. The air was crisp and warm, and Kiru could smell the delicous scent of eagle. Silently, she got up and plodded up the tunnel, following the scent of dead prey.
She was welcomed by many dragons as she reached the main den. They were saying "Hey Kiru!" or "Nice to see you awake." or "Who the heck are you?" (friends said that for a joke) Kiru was delighted to see that the Garsha were being so kind to her, but only three dragons hadn't greeted her. One was Colli, who she understood why. Another one was Jabam, but Kiru wasn't suprised, as he never cared for her. The other one was Espian, which confused her. Had she really hurt her friend to the point that he wished not to talk to her again? Anxiously, she sat down, shivering. "Where's Espian?" She asked.
"He went off to check on the hatchlings." Tarnack replied. "Apprantly Gankad's ill." Kiru shuddered. "He isn't the healer though. That's Nook's job."
Nook was the healer of the Garsha dragons. She hadn't been healer long, as she had been a healer's junior before her mentor, Follis, had passed away because of a killer illness. Kiru knew that Espian knew nothing of medicine, so why was he up there, trying to perform another dragon's job? Heart thumping with fear, she ran up the ledge and took off into the sky towards the hatchling den.
When she reached the den, she saw mothers wrapping their tails around their children as Nook looked over Gankad's body. Espian was close by, talking to Aske, one of Colli's friends. Kiru approached them slowly. "What's wrong with Gankad? Tarnack told me she was ill."
"Nook thinks she has white fever." Espian said. "When she was sharing prey with Suma, she broke into a coughing fit and her face was puffing up." Kiru shivered again. White fever was common in old dragons, and was a killer. She was worried for Suma, if he lost his mother.
Suddenly, her thoughts were disturbed when Aske yelled "They're hatching!" Nook bounded over and saw Aske's four eggs rolling around in their nest. One of them, the biggest one, started hatching swiftly. The other three were hatching too, but not as fast. Aske sat down in her nest and waited for the newborn hatchlings to take their first glances at the world. The biggest egg then hatched, and a little midnight-blue dragon poked it's head out. Aske's eyes were shining with pride as the others started to make their way out of the egg shell.
"What's going on in here?" A voice boomed at the entrance. Espian glanced at the large dragon standing at the entrance. "Your mate's eggs are hatching." He said simply. The male dragon plodded over and pressed his head against Aske's neck. This was Sallek, the second-in-command and Aske's mate. He had bright red skin with lighting yellow spikes and purple eyes. Aske had midnight-blue skin and emerald green eyes.
Finally, all the little hatchlings had made their way out of the egg and into the world. Everyone was pleased for Aske, as she previously had been worried about her eggs because they were taking a long time to hatch. Sallek, like Aske, was very proud. "Worth the wait." He mummered gently. "What are we calling them?"
"I would like to called the midnight-blue female Niha, the yellow male Emasan, the white female with black scales Genasep and... you name the last one." Aske decided. Sallek looked at the last hatchling. It was a red and yellow male, with no wings. He was the smallest, but he was already fighting his brother and sisters. Sallek thought hard, but then thought of the perfect name for him. "What about Chantre?" He suggested. Aske's eyes gleamed in delight, and she nudged the four hatchlings over. "So, our children are called Niha, Emasan, Genasep and Chantre." Kiru smiled at them both. "Congratulations. You'll make great parents." She compliemented.
"I hope you're not forgetting me!" Gankad rasped from the corner. Nook gave a small snort of annoyence and plodded back over to the old female. Kiru sighed. Gankad never liked to be forgotten. Espian then went over beside Kiru, watching the hatchlings. "No one ever thought Sallek would make a good father. He's always been loyal and a trustworthy friend, but we didn't know he had a soft spot for Aske." He mumbled to her.
"And he was always busy, doing his duty." Kiru added. "He's never let Uruba down since he became second-in-command. Even when Uruba became ill and lost trust in the sprits, Sallek still did his job well. He'd make a great leader."
"Yeah." Espian replied. "I think you wouldn't make a bad leader, either." Kiru was too overwhelmed to speak. She was slightly embrassed by Espian's words, so she ducked her head. Espian just laughed, and nudged her shoulder with his tail. "Come on, I think Nook will need help carrying medicine supplies."
"Kiruu!" A little voice piped up. It was Topran. He was sitting on Kiru's tail, trying to fly. Kiru looked up at Espian. "I'll meet you there." She said at last. Her friend nodded, and he flew off into the sky. Kiru then turned to Topran. "Yes?"
"Why are you friends with males? Are you trying to look for a mate or something?" Topran asked, giggling. Kiru cuffed him around the head playfully. "No, silly. Males and females can be friends, like I am friends with you." She said. Topran just laid on the floor and stared. "But many females are best friends with their own gender. Your best friend is Espian! You must fancy him!" He giggled, going hysterical. Kiru looked slightly hurt. "No I don't. No need for you to be that rude." She replied sternly. She was furious that her brother seriously thought that. Thankfully, Colli had heard Topran's comment, and she stepped on his little tail, making him shriek. "Stop being silly. Go play with your brothers and leave Kiru alone." She ordered. Topran plodded off, sulking. Colli then turned to her daughter. "You'd better go and help Espian with those supplies." She mummered, pressing her nose to Kiru's neck. Kiru nodded, rushed towards the entrance, and flew off into the sky.
As she rose higher and higher, she thought about what Topran had said. Yes, she was hurt. No, she didn't really want to take a mate. Sighing, Kiru swooped down into the medicine cave and greeted Espian, who was gathering up some supplies in a large leaf. "You can carry it, seeing as I have sorted it." He teased. Kiru laughed and plodded over. Espian then looked at her. "Um, hope you don't mind me asking, but what did Topran say to you back there?"
Kiru gulped. She really couldn't tell him what her brother had said, so she had to think of a lie quickly. Sudden thought then struck her. "He wanted to know if I..."
"What?" Espian asked, wrapping up the herbs tightly. "You can tell me, I won't tell anyone else."
"Um..." Kiru was struggling, so she had to tell him the truth. In a diffrent way. "He wanted to know when I was going to take a mate." Espian then looked up from what he doing and stared. "Little bit nosey. What did you say?" Kiru gulped again. "Erm... I said that I wasn't planning on taking a mate yet." She replied quickly.
"Oh." Espian continued sorting the herbs in silence. Kiru frowned. Have I hurt him? Or does he know I'm kind of lying?

She thought to herself. Quietly, she approached him. "Are you alright?" She asked, sitting down beside him. Espian stared at her. "I'm fine. Why? Do I look depressed?" He replied grumpily. He then shook his head. "Oh my goodness, I am really sorry, Kiru! I really didn't know what I was saying there!" Kiru gave a little snort of amusement. "Seriously, why are you trying to sound all-mighty and posh?" She teased, giving him a playful shove. Espian shoved her back, and soon they were wrestling, laughing.
Just as they were laughing hysterical, a shadow appeared at the entrance. It was Uruba, and he didn't look impressed. "And what are you doing?" He snapped angrily, lashing his tail.
Kiru quickly rose up to her feet, and turned to face the old leader. "We were... um..."
"Messing around when you are on duty!" Uruba had basicly answered Kiru's question for her. Espian got up and dipped his head to the leader. "We're sorry, Uruba. We didn't mean to." Uruba, however, wasn't convinced. "You both are going to be punished." He hissed through gritted teeth.
"B-but.." Espian tried to object, but Uruba cuffed him hard around the head. "Shut up, you goat-brained fool!" Kiru was now angry, to see her friend being treated in this way. So before she could stop herself, she flung herself at Uruba and attacked him.

"Kiru? Kiru!"
The little silver she-dragon opened her eyes and saw that she was not up in the mountains. She was down on the ground, in the forest. Slowly, Kiru lifted her head and looked at the surroundings. The air smelt of death and blood, and everything was still. No wind made her shiver, and no water lapped in the stream. No prey rustled in the bushes close by, no dragons flew overhead. This made Kiru slightly frightened, but she couldn't show her fear.
"Kiru!" The voice called again. Kiru heaved herself up and tried to scent out the dragon. She plodded slowly, pebbles crunching under her feet. That was the only noise she could hear, along with her own breathing.
Kiru had reached the boarder with the Tanji when she heard the voice again. She stopped walking along and sat down, listening. That voice... she reconised it... but she didn't know where.
She then felt pain explode all over her body, and then Kiru realized she was injured. She had warm blood trickling down her neck, and several other wounds. Weakly, she lifted her head and cried out "Please, someone help me!"
No voices came, which frightened Kiru even more. What happened to that voice calling her name? A small breeze was now in the air, picking up dead leaves and making them glide gracefully through the air. Kiru decided to cry out again, and this time she heard a rustle in the bushes. She gave a loud wail, and then the thing appeared.
It was defintly a dragon, with pitch black scales and pale blue eyes. It had long claws, coated with blood. Kiru stood up weakly and faced the dragon. "Who are you?" She demanded.
"I am Deatha," The dragon replied. "and you have tresspassed. So that makes you my prisoner."

A new mystery

Kiru was trembling all over as she was led by Deatha deeper into the forest. It was still night, she had never been up for so long in all her life. Anxiously, she stared upwards and then at Deatha. "Where are you taking me? Will I see my friends again?"
"I'm taking you away." Deatha growled. "And you'll see your friends." He then added through gritted teeth "Soon." Kiru gulped, but then decided to listen. Nothing still. The forest was as dead as prey. Her purple eyes were filled with fright as she and Deatha walked on. Kiru then felt the urge to create conversation. "Where do you live?"
"Down here." Deatha pointed his wing down to a small gorge, where 2 caves sat in the moonlight. Kiru gulped. "I'm a den guard you know... so maybe I could protect your dens." Deatha gave her a hard glare. "I live in one. My prisoners live in the other. And you're not getting out of it."
"I wasn't going to try." Kiru retorted. She followed Deatha down into the gorge and into one of the caves.
"Mama! Mama!" A little high-pitched voice screamed. Kiru looked in the corner and saw a very small hatchling, standing over a dead body. Deatha growled. "Be quiet, you dumb thing!" The hatchling was silent, but her eyes were watering. The black dragon then turned away from his prisoners and back to Kiru. "You are in charge of keeping the hatchlings in check."
"Alright." Kiru said, plodding over to the wailing hatchling. "Who are you?" She asked gently. The little blue dragon gazed her Kiru with her big blue eyes. "Naqua."
"My name is Kiru. I won't hurt you." The silver dragon replied. "Do you come from the Tanji or the Garsha?"
"Neither. I travel in a group of sea dragons. But then he came and took me and my mother. He killed her." Naqua told her. "And what are the Tanji and Garsha like?"
"There are two dragon tribes here: The Garsha and the Tanji. I belong to Garsha, which is ruled by Uruba. Garsha dragons are intelligent and friendly, also very swift in flight. We are known for being quite small, compared to the Tanji. They are the evil dragons here. They are sly, troublesome and violent. Their leader is called Barsh." Kiru explained. She then added in a low voice "Is there anyone here that you know of that are Garsha dragons?"
"There are some crazy dragons over there that constantly talk of these spirits." Naqua flicked her little tail towards a small group of dragons gossiping. "They speak such rubbish!"
Ah. She doesn't believe in the spirits of the dead. I better remember that in case I get involed in some strange discussion involing them.

Kiru thought before plodding over to the dragons. She poked one of them with her claw.
"Hey!" One of them rasped. "Go away!"
"I'm only here to ask if anyone here comes from the Garsha or the Tanji." Kiru stammered, taking a quick step back to avoid getting her face slashed.
"Did someone say Garsha?" Another voice piped over. "I'm from there. My name is Tanne."
"I am too!" A small voice squeaked. "I'm Alleem!"
More voices started to cry out, but only another four more dragons. This now meant Kiru was not alone. She flicked her tail towards herself. "I'm from the Garsha too. I am called Kiru. I was a den guard."
"I'm nursing two eggs. My mate was a Garsha dragon, but he was killed." Tanne said.
"Me a hatchling!" Alleem squeaked.
"I was a healer's apprentice." Another dragon called Kall told them.
"I was a elder and I'm still a elder." A dragon named Gamit rasped.
"Mispii and I were fighters." A dragon called Yakeep annonced in a bold tone. Kiru nodded. "Are there any Tanji dragons here?"
"We are." Kiru spun her head round to see four dragons. Two were elders, one was nursing a egg and the last one was a hunter. The elders were called Mana and Triler, the female nursing the egg was called Ellre and the hunter was called Bloo, who was also Ellre's mate.
"It is nice to meet you all." Kiru gulped, dipping her head. "But what we need is a plan to get out of here alive."
"What about meeee?" Naqua squealed. "The rest of us aren't from around hereee!!!"
"You'll all come too." Kiru reassured her. "Everyone will escape. I will make sure that no one is left behind."

The plan

"Are we ready?" Kiru called to the other dragons. Her new-found friends nodded their heads, and the young silver dragon flicked her tail towards Yakeep and Bloo. "You know what to do."

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 05.02.2012

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