Moon Book One


This book is for my family and loved ones that support me in every way possible. Thanks guys! I wouldn’t be able to do what i do with out you all.


Chapters

Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitors

Chapter 2: Elva

Chapter 3: Magic, Apples, and Thought Talk

Chapter 4: The Day Dream Dragon

Chapter 5: A Dragon’s Desperate Move

Chapter 6: The Moon

Chapter 7: Lethian Training

Chapter 8: Soul Eater

Chapter 9: Teiram’s Guardian

Chapter 10: The Belaroughe

Chapter 11: Granite

Chapter 12: Battle Over Green Valley

Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitors

Pen reached for the familiar blade at his side. With a swift motion he pulled it from it’s holster, it’s leather handle smooth against his skin. He was looking straight into the eyes of Mathias, the evil emperor that had taken control of Feistier and forced the inhabitants into poverty. Pen hated Mathias with every inch of his being. It pleased him that he would have the chance to kill him. Tightening his grip on the hilt of the sword, Pen lunged forward. He twisted around and parried a strike from Mathias’s dark blade.
The force of the impact shot hot sparks flying from where the two blades met. They struggled to disarm one another, pressing against each other with brute force. It quickly became clear to Pen that he would not win by strength alone. He would have to out match Mathias in wit and skill. In that, he doubted his own abilities. Mathias’s face hardened and he yelled out in a language Pen didn’t understand. He felt his body shift slightly and without warning, fly backwards. He hit the ground hard, knocking the air from his lungs and splitting a bone in his side. Pain shot through him as the sweet taste of blood filled his mouth.
He coughed, which worsened the pain. Pulling himself up from the dirt, he managed to look at Mathias one final time before the dark edge of his scimitar pierced his stomach. Pen yelled out as pain exploded throughout his body. He went limp, strength seemed to be leaking from his body. Was this the end? The cold grip of fear closed around him as he realized his helplessness. How was he going to escape from this nightmare? Again Mathias shoved his sword deep into Pen’s body.
He was getting cold. His arms and legs were unresponsive. He was cold. So cold. “You should not have challenged me boy. You should have know that this would have only ended badly for you.” Again the cold steel split it way into Pen’s body. He shuddered as the sword slid free of his flesh. His eyelids where getting heavy. He was beginning to loose consciousness. And he was cold...so....cold

******

Pen sat upright in bed. He was breathing heavy and his shirt was drenched in sweat. He closed his eyes and breathed deep. He held the air in his lungs for a few seconds before releasing it. The dream he had the night before seemed so real. He was sure it had happened. Whipping the sleep form his eyes, he spun around and placed his feet on the cold hard wood floor of his room. He stood and walked over to the bowl of water on the small dresser in the far corner of his room. He cupped his hands and dipped them into the icy water , then splashed his face and washed off any dirt that might be on it. It also served the purpose of waking him further as well.
While drying his face on the edge of his shirt, Pen walked over to his bed and felt around underneath. He smiled when he found what he was looking for. It was a small wooden box, no longer or wider than six inches. Inside he hid his ring and his working gloves. The ring was given to him by his grandfather the day before he left. Pen rolled the ring between his fingers and admired its craftsmanship. It was made from fine silver and in the center was a small sapphire. Around the edges of the ring small details of a rose were imprinted into the silver. The gem seemed to radiate with a soft glow in the center.
For a long while Pen couldn’t seem to break his gaze into the gem. After managing to look away from it, Pen twisted the ring around one more time, this time he noticed an engravement on the backside. “Blodgaram?” He suddenly felt a small twinge of weakness sweep through his body. Then he was suddenly aware of the people outside the house. He knew who they were. His heart sunk. Why would the kings black hands come here? They where looking for something. Then his mind switched places. “How did I know they were here?” ignoring his own question, he slipped the ring on and then the gloves. Pen quietly stood and walked to the door of his room and placed his ear against it. He heard a voice emanating from behind it. He strained to hear what they were saying. He recognized one of the voices as his mothers, the last relative he had living with him. The next voice he could tell was a man, but he didn’t know who it was. It was the third voice that he lingered on.
He had heard that same smooth voice in his dreams many times before. The voice sounded emotionless and cold. It was the voice of someone with great evil living in their heart. Then, he knew. It was the king himself. The dark lord of Feistier. The twisted and demented man who slaughtered thousands and took control of their peaceful city. For years he had been in control of Feistier. But it was just recently that he had begun going to houses himself, either to kill the family within, or to take the most able man in the house to force them into his army. Being recruited was a death sentence. Everyone knew that their loved ones, that were recruited, were dead. They would never be seen again. Disobeying Mathias’s rule was impossible. He instantly knew if a rebellion was breaking out in his army. He used magic to do this.
Mathias was one of the few people in Feistier that could use magic. Most of the people that could, were killed when Mathias took Feistier over.
“There is no one else in my house.” He heard his mother say to them. “I live alone.”
For a minute, no noise came from the living room. Then “Go check the rest of the rooms.”
Pen felt the hair on his neck stand. He quickly looked around for a place to hide. He thought about the bed, but decided that would be to obvious. Then he looked at the window. It was small and he wasn’t sure if he could make it out of it. But he had to try. The ran to the window and pulled the pane of glass out and sat it underneath the bed. Then he Stuck his head out and used his feet to push himself onto the window seal. He grabbed the edge of the roof and pulled himself out the window and onto the top of the house. He sturdied himself and sat as still as possible.
He heard the door to his room swing open and strike the wall. Footsteps echoed through the room as the person inside searched for signs of another person. For a few minutes, the person walked around the room, then he left. Pen sighed, relieved that he had not been discovered. He crept over to the other side of the house. Careful not to make any noise. He was in luck, the living room window was open. It comforted him that he could still here the conversation inside. His comfort was short lived however.
“Why is there two rooms in this house?” He heard Mathias ask his mother.
There was a slight pause and then she said “Its my sons room. He was taken from me when our house was raided a year ago tomorrow. I haven't been in there since.”
She was lying of course, but there was no way to tell. They had practiced deceiving the king incase something like this happened. Pen was thankful they did. Mathias said something in the same strange language he heard in his dream. Then it was over. The front door opened and the two men exited the house.
A sigh of relief escaped him after they were to far away to see. He slipped his way back into his roof and grabbed a shirt from the dresser. After placing it on he opened his door and walked into the living room. Horror struck him as he beheld the room. Blood dripped for the roof and puddled on the floor. The room smelled like metal, due to the immense amounts of blood. The floor was covered in the same crimson liquid as the roof, as were the walls. All the furniture was pressed tightly up against the walls and in the center of the room, were the remains of his mother. Pen’s stomach turned and knotted. His face got hot as vomit rushed up his throat and splashed on the floor, mixing with the blood.
Tears streamed his face as he made his way across the room to his mother. A hard lump formed in his throat as he knelt next to her. “How could anyone do this?” he asked himself. He wasn’t sure what to do. But ultimately decided to burn the house and leave. “There is no reason for me to stay here. I need to get out of this city.” He knocked over a barrel of blasting jelly, spilling its contents onto the floor then he used a rope coated in blasting jelly to make a wick. he unwound it and walked over to the door. “I love you mom.” Using a lantern that had already been lit, he set fire to the wick. He ran from the building as fast as he could. He knew that once the blasting jelly on the floor wall ignited, it would explode . He was no more than one hundred feet away when the house burst in flame. Heat rushed over him from behind and an invisible force pushed him forward. The size of the explosion was bigger than he had predicted.
He rolled over and looked back at the house. Massive flames shot up from it. There was nothing left of the northern corner. He laid there on the ground, sobbing to himself as he watched his childhood burn into nothingness.

******

Chapter 2: Elva

Elva bent over searching for signs of the thief she had been tracking for the past two days. He was crafty and clever. She had not been challenged like this in a long time. She stood, disappointed that she hadn’t found any clues. He was careful not to walk in soft soil, not to break sticks, not to be seen in towns, not to leave any shred of evidence, and she hated him for it. She pressed he lips together and breathed deeply, enjoying the sweet sent of pine trees. She sat on a stump and sheathed her falchion sword. She folded her hands in her lap and looked up at the sky. Its was a soft blue color, different than she had seen before. She found herself caught in its beauty. No clouds were in sight and it was unusually warm for this time of year.
She forced herself to stand and continue on her search. She continued on for a few hours before stopping to eat. She pulled the pack off her back and opened the flap and removed the berries she put in it. It took her only a few minutes to eat all the berries, nuts, and vegetables in her pack. She leaned back against a tree and smiled, feeling content. She summoned the strength of the forest around here and said “Aseina revenia quadrianna.” The grass at her feet hardened as life was sucked from it to supply the power the spell she caste demanded. The spell would wake her before sunrise in the morning. She hadn’t realized that it was almost dark already. Wandering these woods in the dark could result in you getting lost. And in here, that was really bad to do. She smothered the fire, to avoid being detected by anyone, and leaned up against the tree again and closed her eyes. It wasn’t long before she drifted off into the void of sleep.

Pen stumbled into a clearing in the wood just off the path he had been following all day. He slumped into the soft grass and whipped his face clear of tears. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do now. He didn’t really think it through. He turned over onto his back and stared at the deep blue sky. It was lined with thousands of stars. It’s beauty soothed him. They seemed to wash away all the events of the day. and soon he found himself drifting off to sleep.
Pen ran hard. Trying to escape the dark void his soul was slipping into. Dark and twisted laughter filled his ears, deafening him. “Foolish child! You can’t escape me!.” He opened his eyes. Mathias was standing over him. His sword dug deep into Pen’s body. He was cold again. He reached up and whispered “P-p-please...why are...you doing this...t-t-to me?” There was not answer. Instead Mathias shoved the blade through Pen’s heart. His vision went black. He felt nothing. Was he dead? He could still here Mathias’s smooth voice in his ear. “Your mother should have given you to me. Now you are both dead.” Pen felt as if he were falling. He reached out, grasping at the air around him. But there was nothing. No light, no wind, not even darkness. He was cold and alone. He wished he could finish what his father started. But it was becoming obvious to him. No one would every kill Mathias. Methais could single handedly take out entire armies. How could one man even hope to kill such a monster as this? And then, Pen, was no more.

Something wet touched Pen’s face that forced him out of his sleep. He jerked upright and looked to see what it was. To his surprise it was a bear cub. “Oh, hey there little guy.” He smiled and reached out and touched the bear on the head. A small growl came from it and it shied away. Pen watched as the bear walked lazily off into the deeper parts of the woods. He sighed and stood. He was sore from sleeping on the ground, but it still didn't take him long to get rid of his camp. “I’d better get everything cleaned up. I don’t want to leave any evidence that I've been here.” Pen knew that if someone found his temporary camp, they would search for him. He didn’t want to be found by the wrong people.
After getting his belongings put into his pack, he stepped out onto the road and froze. Less than a mile away were a large group of the king’s soldiers. If they saw him, it would be all over for him. Without thinking Pen darted into the woods. He didn't stop running for anything. Branches snapped beneath his feet, he prayed the soldiers wouldn’t hear them. His foot struck a rock and his ankle twisted. Pain shot up his leg as it popped and the bones in it shattered. Even with the extreme pain, he dared not yell out. he bit his tongue to avoid screaming. Blood filled his mouth as his teeth sunk into it.
He crawled a little ways, searching for a spot to hide. He discovered a spot where the roots of a tree had sprawled out and made a hole just big enough to conceal him. He quickly crawled into it and held his breath. He was far enough from the road that he was sure they wouldn’t hear him, but he wanted to be safe. An hour passed before he crawled out of his hiding spot. Then he gently pulled his boot off his foot and examined his ankle. It was a dark purple and completely unresponsive. He was surprised to find that it didn’t really hurt that bad. That at least gave him some comfort for he had a bigger problem at hand. If he couldn’t walk, how would he keep from being discovered? Just as that thought crossed his mind. An inhuman screech filtered through the air.

Elva was sitting on a smooth bolder, meditating. An exercise she preformed a lot. It helped her to find the people she was looking for. She projected he mind forward. Searching for a consciousness. She wasn’t skilled enough to tell who that person was, but she figured it didn’t matter. The population of humans in the forest is very small. She hoped it was limited to her and her thief. She expanded her mind to reach out up to three miles. She found numerous animals and insects, but no people. She frowned and pushed her mind out even further. Still she found no people. Determined to locate the thief she pushed her mind out as far as she could. It reached out fifteen miles.
It took much longer to sort through the large amounts of consciousnesses she was encountering. She smiled as she came across a large one with the properties of a human. There was no doubt to her that she had located a person. She fixated on it and determined its exact location. It was on the very edge of her reach. But she could tell that the person was in pain, in more ways than one. She blanketed the conscious with that of her own and held it in place. The person it belonged to would be unable to move. She tried this once on the thief but he had obviously been trained to block against mental attacks. She was forced back into her own mind by the brute force of his mind.
This time was different. There was little resistance against her. “Maybe the injuries he has suffered are to distracting for him to defend his mind.” She said. She stood and hopped off the bolder with extreme grace and elegance. Then she collected her things from her camp and placed them in her pack. She started off in the direction of the conscious in a brisk walk. But the closer she got to it, the more frantic the person felt to her. After several long minutes she had closed the gap by a little over a mile. She was completely unaware that she was now running, dodging the massive trunks of the towering pines that surrounded her. The air had cooled since the day before, even so, her lungs began to burn with exhaustion. Without stopping, she reached into her pack and pulled out a water skin and drank from it in between breaths.
The cold liquid quenched the sides of her dried throat. She ran for what seemed like hours before coming to a river. The river was far to wide to jump, and the swift moving currents made it impossible to walk through. She considered using a fallen tree to make a bridge, but found that it was to rotted to hold her weight. She stood there for a while contemplating on what to do. Then she decided to use magic to make it across. She took more time to recall all the words she had been taught in the Language of Elders. Then she had to pick the appropriate combination of words to make a seamless sentence. A spell with a loop hole in it, could result in death. Then, once she was satisfied that the sentence was whole, she said “Carian ena firea waise urabe.” She used the endless supply of energy from the swiftly moving river to fuel the spell. Her body shifted and slowly rose into the air. She floated just inches above the water and landed softly on the bank of the opposing side.
“Alright,” she said. “Where is that conscious?” She searched the surrounding area with her mind and located it. To her surprise, it was less than fifty feet from where she was. She walked over to where the energy was coming from.The conscious led her into a small clearing. many of the trees had scorch marks and most of their bark torn off. It was obvious that a battle of some sort has taken place. She looked around but no one was in sight. The conscious was less then ten feet away now. She caught the slight glimmer of metal in the sunlight. It came from underneath the twisted roots of a tree that had suffered the most damage. The roots created a small hole under them. In the hole was a young man.
She pulled free of his mind and pulled him out from under the tree. He was badly injured, and even more disappointing, he was not the man she was after. Elva placed his head on her lap and scanned his tattered body to determine the extent of his injuries. She found several broken bones in his right leg, but in his left leg, the bones where almost completely destroyed. Most of the skin had been removed from his right arm and he had four broken ribs. His face was bruised and adorned with cuts. “Fixing you is going to be a challenge my friend.” Elva said to the beaten man.

******

Chapter 3: Magic, Apples, and Thought Talk

An unfamiliar feeling woke Pen from his slumber. He struggled to open his eyes, and he noticed that the pain in his leg had gone. “Don’t talk. It will only make it harder for me to heal you completely.” a voice from above him said. He felt the pressure from his swollen eyes subside and he was able to open them. His head was resting on the lap of a woman he had never met before. She had light blue eyes, black hair, and he could tell that she was much stronger than she appeared. “I’m almost done, I’ve been fixing you for the passed hour or so. I don’t know what happened to you, but you where in pretty bad shape. I had to completely reconstruct your entire left leg.” She said, giving him a reassuring glance. Pen wasn’t sure what she meant by reconstruct his entire leg. He couldn’t remember what happened to him, all could remember was the horrifying screech just before he blacked out.
“All done!” She said with a smile. Pen forced himself upright, a task that proved to be much more challenging than he had predicted. “Your still pretty weak from the loss of blood. I was almost to late. I guess it was a stroke of fate that i was here. Whats your name?” There was a moment of silence between them as Pen tried to process what she asked. He was so tired he barely able to bring himself to think.
“Pen.” He said faintly.
“Pen...I’ve heard that name somewhere before. Anyways, you need to rest. I’ll stay here with you until morning but if your not able to at least walk by then, you own your own.”
“You, wouldn’t happen to have any food would you?” he asked the mysterious woman. She smiled at him and said “You will have to wait until morning. I don’t have the strength myself to summon enough energy to force a plant to bear fruit of any kind. Healing you was harder than you could ever imagine. Now, sleep. We will get something in the morning.”
“Whats your name?”
“Elva”

Pen’s soul slipped from its body and began to float away from the shredded remains of it. He looked down to see Mathias turn and walk away from him. Horror gripped Pen. He was dead. He had lost to Mathias in their battle. A voice filled his head. “Do not quit. You are not meant to die here. You are destined to do greatness. You will be the peoples liberator. Save us from to torrent that the dark lord has embellished us with. Fight, Pen. You must fight to survive.” The voice was hard and unforgiving. It was obviously coming from a being much stronger than himself. He wielded his soul downward towards his body. But the pull of death was overwhelming. “I can’t! I need help!” Pen yelled out.
“I can offer you little aid Pen. All i can do is heal your body once you return to it.” Pen grabbed at his body with his mind. He pulled as hard as his soul would allow.It wasn’t easy but he managed to reenter it. “Hurry! Heal me!” With That a force rushed over Pen, sealing all his open wounds and refilling his body with blood and strength. He had a second chance to kill Methais.

When morning finally came Pen had his strength back and was able to walk as if nothing had every happened. “Do you use magic?” Elva asked him. He shook his head and knelt down beside her. “Magic is a dark art, and i’ll have nothing to do with it.” he said. She looked at him. “It’s only dark if you use it in a dark manor. I could teach you. Its easy enough and could save your life some day.” He didn’t respond then Elva cupped her hands around a plant and said “Greath.” As if commanded, the plant sprang up and grew into a small tree. On the tree, apples blossomed and grew. Then once they were full size they fell off onto the ground.
Amazed, Pen walked over to the tree and felt it, as if it were possibly fake. “How did you do that?” he asked Elva. “Like i said. Magic is only dark if you use it in a dark manor. It can also give life. It doesn’t have to take it away...Would you like to try Pen?” A smile swept across his face as he nodded. He knelt next to her again and she told him to cup his hands around the plant. “Great, now say Greath.” He did as instructed, but the plant laid motionless. “Oh, i forgot to explain something. You need to find a host. Or you can use your own strength to cast a spell. But if you choose to do a spell with you own strength, you’d better know what your doing. If it sucks to much strength, your heart will stop and you will die.”
“How do i pick a host?” Pen asked
“Try to feel all the plants around you. Expand your mind so that you can feel their consciousness. “
Again Pen did as instructed and surprisingly found it to be easy. He felt Insects, plants and animals. Everything down to the tiniest molecules. It amazed him at how much life their clearing contained. He found a small burrow where a family of rabbits lived. He found a colony of ants living in one of the many scorched trees. He found a den that a snake had dug for itself and even a nest of birds just outside the clearing. He could hear their thoughts. The oldest rabbit in the burrow was wondering how he was going to get the female to mate with him. And the snake was becoming impatient, waiting for a rabbit to come out of the burrow. A spider on the tree behind him was terrified at the sight of the massive beings in strange colored skin. The level of information he could obtain from the tree consciousness was immense. They were old and very wise. He found how ever that their minds moved much slower than that of the others. Then he came across a bird with a broken wing that wanted nothing more than death. “What happens to the host?” He asked Elva suddenly. “Well...depending on how massive the spell is, it could drain their life and kill them. That why you always want to go for either something that has no chance of living or something with unlimited energy.”
“What has unlimited energy?”
“Well, for one running rivers are an endless energy supply. Fires also have a large amount of energy. But the best of all the wind. It is un-living and has no consciousness. But it produces energy. However. it is unpredictable and can sever the flow of magic before your spell is completed. You may also store energy in gems, swords, and just about anything you carry with you. So if you ever find something laying around, check for energy within it.”
That solved his problem of selecting a host. He sought out the crippled bird and without hesitation said “Greath” The plant began to grow slowly. Pen felt the the birds consciousness fading until there was nothing left. The growing tree in front of him continued to sprout for a few more seconds until halting. It was half the size of Elva’s and didn’t look as green, but Pen was proud that he managed to grow it as easy as he did. “Your a natural!” Elva stated. Now let us grab some apples from my tree. Not to offend you, but yours looks rather sickly. But it’s much better than my first one.” She laughed.
Pen sank his teeth into the apple and realized that his last meal had been two days ago. Hung exploded from his stomach at the sudden realization. Elva giggled and said “You must be hungry!” Pen didn’t answer, instead he nodded and threw his fourth apple core into the woods. They ate in silence. Pen was scanning the areas around them for consciousness. He enjoyed listening to other creatures thoughts. Then he accidentally pushed his way into Elva’s mind. It was much different from the other ones. It was warm, and familiar. He felt a tingle run down his spine as Elva looked up at him.
“Pen?”
“Are you talking to me with your mind?” Pen asked aloud
“I can hear your thoughts and you can hear mine. Just think about something you would say and i will hear it.” she said
“You can hear my thoughts?”
She nodded and said “I’m not sure how you got into my mind. No one has ever been able to do that before.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I’m not sure...anyways lets get going. It’s dangerous to stay in one spot for to long.”
With that the two of the got up and left their clearing

******

Chapter 4:
The Daydream Dragon

Apophis flapped his massive wings to gain altitude. He lead his head forward to reduce the wind resistance and pick up speed. He was being hunted for the worst crime of all. He was being blames for the death of the Egyptians sun god. He of course had nothing to do with it.The god was not a god. He was mortal and vulnerable to the arms of death. He died of age. Not from the claws and fangs that belonged to Apophis. Try as he might, Apophis could not convince them that he was not responsible. “This is an outrage! I am a dragon! And i run from the filthy two-legs for what? To uphold the treaty that my race foolishly wrote with them? Bah! I could kill them all easily!” He flapped his wings again to further himself from the earth again. He not only was a dragon, but he was the most powerful type of dragon that existed. He was a Daydream.
Daydreams were the rarest of dragons, and the only ones completely capable with magic. The where also the fastest. And it hurt his pride that he had to run from the humans. His eyes narrowed as he neared a large forested area. He would be safe in the thickness of the wood. He folded his wings and broke into a dive. The wind rushed around him and the ground below blurred as the pressure in the air changed rapidly. Less than five hundred feet above the tree tops, Apophis opened his wings. The strain on them cause him little discomfort. He had pulled this maneuver many times before. About one hundred feet above the tree, he started flapping to slow himself to a slight decline. He landed in a clearing just big enough to fit him. He was completely concealed from the outside world.
Satisfied that his hunters would not find him, he allowed himself to get comfortable. Using his fire, he heated the ground around him to keep him warm through the night. He folded his front legs and rested is head on them. He yawned exposing the massive white fangs in his mouth. Then with a hum deep in his throat, fell off into the void of sleep.

Pen struggled to keep up with Elva. It became clear to him that she was far stronger than him and was able to run much further than him. She glanced back at him and with her mind said “Do you need a rest Pen? Your face is red and you look like your going to pass out.” He nodded and the two of them stopped long enough for him to catch his breath. “How...do you...manage to keep...this pace up?” Pen asked through gasps. “I draw energy from the plants around me. It keeps my body from using hardly no energy and permits me to run for several miles on end.” She replied with a slight smile. “You could have mentioned this earlier” He said. Elva walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulder. Then said “Resoria striamthia.” His body was rushed by a surge of energy and all fatigue vanished. “Better?” She asked. “Better.”
They continued onward for a few hours. Pen had quickly figured out how to absorb energy like Elva had said. It was easy and didn’t hurt the plant like he thought it would. “If your moving fast enough, you won’t even take enough energy from them to alert them of danger.” She reassured him. “Where are we going?” She didn’t answer right away and he could feel her uncertainty though the mental connection they had built, but eventually she said “To the resistance hide out.” It didn’t surprise him that she was part of the resistance. She was smart, strong, could use magic, and was obviously not evil. He didn’t dwell on it for long. He was having an increasingly hard time concentrating on anything.
Elva sensed this. “Whats wrong? Your distracted.”
Pen wasn’t sure how to explain what his mind kept saying to him. “This might sound crazy...but we need to stop.” She slowed and strode next to him. Giving him a puzzled look she said “Your sensing something, aren’t you.” He nodded and stopped. Then aloud he said. “There’s a huge consciousness in that direction. Its has so much power that i have been sapping it for the last hour. And that was several miles away.”
Elva extended her mind and brushed up against the consciousness to. Then her features turned into a grim expression. “Thats a dragon Pen. Its strange for a dragon to be here. They usually stay toward Egypt and hotter places like that.”
“Can we contact it?” Pen asked.
She looked at the ground. The sunlight filtering through the trees made her look even more beautiful than he remembered. Her slim figure, smooth hair, and her beautiful eyes. She looked back at him and he felt his face get hot with embarrassment. “We shouldn’t, but i will. It feels frightened and angry. Maybe we can help it.” Pen nodded. Elva pushed her mind towards the dragons and forced her way into its mind. The dragons mind was much more massive and complex than a humans. She was having a hard time keeping her own mind from being smothered by its.
Then she heard a deep voice say “Are you the insects that have using MY energy without my permission?” She shuttered. The voice was powerful and intimidating. She was thankful that they were not standing in front of the great beast. “We meant you no harm. We simply are trying to get home.”
A growl rushed through their connection. “If i could find you, you surely would not lie to me. You have other reasons of contacting me. What might they be?” Elva chose her words carefully before speaking again. “I sensed that you were hurt and upset. I thought i might try to help you in some way.”
“I was wrongly accused and attacked by the two-legs-no-winged-humans. They have wounded my right hind leg. But i can mend it with my own magic. I do not need your assistance.” With that the dragon severed their connection and forced Elva back into her own mind.
She opened her eyes and told Pen what had happened. “what was he like?” He asked her. She answered right away "Powerful, terrifying, and intimidating. I wasn't sure if he was in need of help or if he wasn't. But I'm glad we weren't there. He was fully aware of you using his power and he wasn't happy about it." Pen smiled. "I guess i should be more careful about who i sap energy from then."

Apophis considered re contacting the two-leg that contacted him. His pride wouldn't allow him to accept help from such inferior beings. However, he had always found it difficult to use magic for anything which angered him further. He looked up at the moon. Its dull white light bathed the land in a soft glow that to the two-legs, was to dark to see in. Apophis could see easily as if it where day. His sensitive senses where extremely fine tunes and could he could see in almost complete darkness. His black scales shimmered as he shook off a chill. He re-heated the ground around him and tried to drift back off into sleep. But every time he tried, a cricket, or something else would make noise and wake him.
It was as if the universe didn't want him to sleep. He laid there restless for hours, tossing and turning. Trying to find the perfect sleeping position. But every time he ended up not being able to drift off. "This is hopeless." He closed his eyes again and imagined he was flying high in the clouds on a bright and sunny summer afternoon.He smiled and breathed in deeply. The air smelled fresh. The clouds looked as if they where made from clumps of cotton. He wanted to jump into them.Something rustled in the bushes behind him, which snapped him out of his daydream. Apophis whipped around and growled. A large group of men darted into the clearing stabbing at Apophis with sharp-metal-talons. He jumped out of their range and landed on the outside of the clearing. Shouts of the men echoed through the forest. Apophis flapped his wings and took to the air. It was the only safe place from his pursuers.
“I need there help.” If there was one thing Apophis was good at, it was persuasion.

******

Chapter 5:
A Dragon’s Desperate Move

The sun was just above the horizon, coloring the sky different hues of orange and yellow, when Pen and Elva walked into a small town called Harton. It was over forty miles from where Pen’s house use to be. He was amazed at how far he had already traveled. The building in the town where nothing more than small wooden huts, all lined up in neat rows. Pen counted six building on the main street and on either side of him where columns of seven. There were only three rows though. The streets where practically empty, aside from a few children playing on porches or in yards. But they didn’t seem to even notice Pen or Elva.
“Lets see if we can find a place to stay for the night. I could use a hot bath and a warm bed.” Elva said suddenly. Pen agreed and the two of them decided to part ways.Elva walked down the main street and Pen went down the back street on the left. Elva stood in front of the fourth building down on the left side. She couldn’t make the words out that were on the sign above it. They were to badly faded. She walked in and went up to the man behind the counter. He was a short man with a scruffy beard and was slightly round.
“What can I do for ya miss?” he asked Elva. His voice was coated heavily with a western accent that almost made Elva laugh. She managed to push aside her laughter “I was hoping to find a room for me and my friend.” The man picked up a glass and shoved his plump had into it and cleaned it with a rag. Then said “You two together? Cause if ya aint, you’ll have to buy separate rooms. Gotta keep the men and women separate in these parts. Hell, we don’t hardly get any around here. All the damn women are to old, and yer mighty pretty.”
Elva’s cheeks turned red with anger and embarrassment. “He is my betrothed.” The bar tender look her in the eyes, as if trying to catch her lie. He was unable to though. It hadn’t been the first time she had deceived some one in this manor. “Well alrighty, that’ll be five copper pieces miss.” Elva reached into her pack and dug out her coin bag. From it she counted out the five pieces needed to rent a room for the night. “You all come back down here later on, well be having some fun.” the man said as she left the hotel feeling disgusted. Elva pushed her mind forward in search of Pen. She found him on the opposite side of the little town. “I found us a room. We will have to share a bed though. I hope thats alright with you.” For a few seconds, she didn’t hear anything. Then, “That’s just fine with me. But if you want I’m sure we can talk the owner into giving us an extra blanket and pillow and I’ll just sleep on the floor.”
Elva laughed and shook her head. “How are you to get a good night sleep on a cold hard floor Pen?” He chuckled and didn’t respond. She walked out onto the street and started exploring the town.

Apophis’s wings were sore from flying non-stop all night. He longed to land and rest. But the two-legs had found a way to keep up with him. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to uphold the dragons pact with the humans. Then a thought occurred to him. “The humans have attacked me wrongly. Even if they think it to be out of justice. They have no proof to uphold their case against me. So maybe its time i stopped running and time that i ended this feud.” He growled and rocketed towards the ground.
He was ready for them. They would regret ever attacking him. For there was no way and man could take down a dragon. Apophis roared and allowed a large jet of flames sprout out of his mouth. He was going to eat good tonight.

Pen sat down at the bar and watched the people inside the hotel laughing and drinking. He wished Elva was there with him to at least talk to him. Then he had an idea. He reached out with his mind and found a cricket in one of the rooms above him. The cricket conscious was small and not very strong, but was capable of complex thought, much to Pen’s surprise. “Um, hello there...cricket.” The cricket didn’t respond in the manor Pen had expected but instead screamed. He sighed rested his elbows on the bar and examined the room.
It was fairly bare and bland. The most exciting thing he found was the shattered window in the front of the building. He knew there was a story behind it, but didn’t feel like asking. Expanding his mind again he searched for Elva. He wasn’t as skilled as she was and he accidentally rubbed up against the minds of the people in the bar. Most of them were to groggy and dizzying for him to get anything coming from them. But he managed to find her three buildings down. “Elva, are you going to come back to the hotel? Or should i just come down there?” There was no response. He pushed on her mind harder. Whatever she was doing, she was so wrapped up in it, she didn’t even realize that Pen was pushing on her conscious.

A man charged Apophis sword draw and ready to stab the dragon through the heart. Apophis dodged the blade and stabbed the man in the throat with the spikes on his tail. The next two men he crushed with his feet. Apophis felt a small splinter of pain tingle in his left side as a man smashed several of his rock hard scales with a war hammer. He whipped his head around and shot hot fire at the man. The man burst into flame as the liquid fire spilled over his body. The smell of burnt fleshed was thick in the air as Apophis used his fire to down seven more soldiers. The last soldier to challenge Apophis was a Prane. They stood a towering eight feet tall. Their skulls were harder than most armor and there bodies were ripped with muscle. The prane charged at Apophis with extreme speed .
It used its massive hands to lift Apophis off the ground. He growled and shot a jet of fire into the monsters face. The prane didn’t seem to notice and in one motion, threw Apophis several feet. He landed on his hind legs and fell backwards onto his back. Apophis twisted and turned his body to set himself upright. The prane was already upon his again, using its fists to smash Apophis’s scales. Unlike when the man used his hammer to do so, the prane shattered the scales and left Apophis’s side bleeding and exposed. He roared an explosive roar and picked the prane up in his maw and crushed its arm with his powerful jaws.
The prane struggled to free itself from Apophis’s grip, flailing its legs and hitting him with its good arm. Each blow cause Apophis to only tighten his grip, until the prane yelled out in pain and his arm disconnected from his body. The prane fell to the ground and grasped the bloody stump of his arm. Apophis leaped forward and pined the beast to the ground with his fore legs. The prane could do nothing but watch as Apophis’s large mouth closed around its head and smashed its skull. The prane’s body became limp and motionless beneath Apophis’s feet.
He released a victorious roar into the darkening sky above. “No beast alive can defeat me!”

Pen walked into the small room him and Elva had rented for the night. In the center was the small bed they would be sharing. On the right side was a small table with a basin on it. It had no water in it and was completely covered in dust. On his left side was a window that looked out into the main street. He guessed he was directly above to bar. It was clear to him that this room didn’t get much use. He strode over and sat on the bed patiently waiting for Elva to return from whatever she might be doing.
Then, he realized that he was exhausted. The sky outside had become a pale orange as the sun set in behind the clouds on the horizon. The way the light reflected off the clouds struck Pen as beautiful. He laid down on the single pillow on the bed and watched as the sun sank out of sight. His eyelids where becoming heavy and staying awake was becoming increasingly difficult. Less than ten minutes after the sun had vanished, Pen was asleep.

Apophis felt weak as he ate the corpse of the prane. His body had suffered a savage beating the last few weeks and he was in desperate need of a magician. His wounds would not heal properly on their own. He reached out with his mind in search of the two-legs that had been using his dwindling power supply.The meal he was sinking his teeth into offered him some relief. But i could never make him whole.
Daydream Dragons had the unique ability to communicate with anyone at any time anywhere. But the problem was, the further away that being was, the more consciousness they would have to sort through. It was a pain staking task. But he was desperate, and he allowed that feeling to flow through his mind. He encountered several people with a train of thought similar to those of the two-legs he was searching for. Helplessness crept its way into Apophis as his search drew on for an hour. Then when he was going to give up, he found Pen. What he saw in Pen’s mind horrified him.
The small two-leg was battling someone. Their battle was intense and deadly. A series of blow where being thrown between the two of them. There didn’t seem to be any clear winner. Apophis left Pen’s mend and continued searching to Elva. He found he walking towards Pen. “Human.” Apophis said to her. He felt her heart accelerate, it pleased him that the sound of his voice alone frightened her. “Your that dragon from the forest, correct?” she replied.
He sent feelings of reassurance through there connection. “I need your help.” The dragon said. The sudden request startled her, and she began to calm down. “Is it possible for you to meet us outside of Harton?” She asked him. She could feel his nervousness. She knew that for a dragon to ask a human for help, the dragon must be injured or was in a very desperate situation. He agreed to what she inquired and without another word, severed the connecting again. Although the dragon had attempted to shield it from her, Elva could feel the injuries he had suffered.
“What could do that to a dragon?” She asked herself aloud. She continued on her route to the hotel. Once inside, she was careful to avoid eye contact with the bartender again, and made her way up the stairs to the room Pen and she would be sharing. Once inside she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Pen. He looked so peaceful and so content that it made her long to join him in slumber. So she did. She laid down on the bed next to him and kissed his cheek. “Good night Pen.”
******

Chapter 6:
The Moon

Apophis flew that night non-stop. He strained to keep from passing out, but managed to make it to Hartford without to much trouble. Fatigue had swept him over early on and made it hard for him to concentrate on anything. Once there he found a large patch of trees large enough to conceal him. He didn’t bother warming the ground. Instead he laid down and almost immediately went to sleep.

Pen had already awakened when Elva woke that morning. She walked out of the room and down the stairs. The bar was empty. She reached out and searched for Pen. She was surprised to find that he was where near the town. Puzzled, Elva walked out into the street. The town was completely empty. She didn’t understand what was going on. Then, “Human, i’ve been waiting for you to wake for hours now. It would not be wise to keep me waiting for much longer. I grow impatient. None of these two-legs here have the abilities to heal me.” Elva smiled a sighed a sigh of relief. The towns people had obviously discovered the dragon and where all there with him.
“What side of the town are you on dragon?” There was a pause before Apophis answered back
“I believe it is the eastern side.” Elva used the position of the sun to pinpoint the eastern side of the small town.
Pen was standing a good distance from the dragon when Elva arrived. She examined the dragon from a distance. Most of the scales on his right side where cracked, broken, or completely missing. His face had some cuts and his expanded wings where torn and bleeding. She imagined that the tears would make flying almost impossible. The dragon was all black aside from a white stripe of scales that started at the corners of each of his eyes and continued down the length of his body all the way to the tip of his tail. The scales glittered in the sunlight and bathed the area around them in dots of white.His eyes were a deep emerald color and the spikes that lines his spine where pearly white. His talons were coated in dried blood, as where his teeth. He was busy licking them, probably to clean them.
At first the dragon didn’t even notice Elva had arrived. “I am here.” she said aloud. The Apophis paused in mid-lick and turned to face her. His gazed drilled into her. “You took your sweet time.” She frowned and placed her fists on her hips. “You could have woken me up Pen.”
“Sorry, i didn’t think you would’ve liked that very much.” he replied.
Apophis stood and walked towards Elva. Her breathing increased as fear crept into her. The dragon was at least twelve feet tall. She wasn’t sure if she could trust the beast. “Will you heal my wounds.” he said the sound of his voice rumbling in her head. She nodded. “I’ve never worked on a dragon before, i’m not sure if i can heal your scales to their former luster. Apophis snaked his head around her and inspected her. “You feel different than the humans i have previously encountered. Your aura is much stronger. I trust you will be able to do just fine.” Unlike times before, this time the dragon sounded sincere and innocent.
She felt as if he really did trust her to heal him. “I will lend you any strength i have to complete the task. I’ve had experience in acting as a channel for energy. I will summon energy from the most powerful source in the universe. The moon.” Elva didn’t understand how the moon was the most powerful source in the universe, or how anyone could stretch their minds out that far. “As you wish.” she said. “But first you must tell me how you received your wounds. For i will never help those that are evil.”
“Your curiosity is justified, and i understand but instead, i will show you.”
The dragon leaned forward and touched Elva’s forehead with the tip of his snout. Lights swirled in front of her eyes as her mind was pulled free of her body. She rushed up through the clouds and into the dragon’s mind. In it, she learned many things. Including his name. Then Apophis led her to his memories. The sensation of floating inside someone else’s mind overwhelmed her. She saw things through his eyes. All the smells and little feelings he had. It was fascinating. His senses were much more refined. All the colors of the trees and sky were more vibrant and lively. Even in the dark she could see the faint and pale green of the grass.
Then Apophis stopped on the memory from the Sun God of Egypt.
He walked into a large open room with large pillars stretching from the floor to the roof. She couldn’t quite understand what their purpose would be. They where made of hardened sand. Any extra weight would cause them to collapse. The walls of the room were adorned with gold sculptures of a man she did not recognize. The torches all around the room, gave the interior dancing orange glow. In the center of the room was a large sun crafted from gold. It was clear that someone of great importance lived there.
Apophis continued onward deeper into the room. Then his eyes befell a the man who resembled the statues on the walls. Elva felt the dragon’s sadness explode within him. Apophis was the Sun Gods friend. The Sun God was the first human Apophis befriended, and he was the last. Apophis had always felt a great hatred for all humans and took enjoyment from killing the soldiers that attacked him. The man in front of them was dead, from what Elva guessed to be age. Then a yell broke the silence that en-shrouded the room “You killed our god!” The man yelled. It was strange for her. The man was of dark color. She had never seen such a thing. She deemed it to not be important and continued to watch Apophis. The dragon howled out in agony. Being blamed for the death of his friend was almost as bad as the death itself.
“You DARE to blame me for this human!” The man ran from the room and within minutes, the room was flooded with soldiers. They were carrying the same kind of sword Elva favored. The Falchion. This caught he attention but she didn’t inquire to ask Apophis about it. They rushed at Apophis from all sides, stabbing at him and yelling vicious war cries. Then the beast that entered the room last made Elva shudder. It was an abomination. Its eyes where sunk into it’s skull and where yellow. It’s skin was bumpy and a pale brown color. It was completely covered in tight muscle and it stood towering over the other men.
Elva could feel that Apophis did not want to fight it. He turned and Elva felt a pressure build up in Apophis’s stomach. Then she felt the warm tingling sensation of molten lava boil up his throat. It collected in his throat and turned to fire in his maw. It rushed passed his teeth, tingling his lips as it curled up over them. The flame was more than six feet wide and well over thirty feet long. To her surprise it wasn’t orange, but instead was the same emerald color of his eyes. The fire easily burned a hole in the roof bug enough for Apophis to fly out of.
He jumped through it, with a single bound using his powerful hind legs. His whole body vibrated with emotion as he spread his wings and flapped them hard. Apophis floated higher into the air, leaving the temple below nothing more than a small square, hundreds of feet below. “I could not attack them.” Apophis said to Elva. “Or so i thought at this time.” Elva was well aware of the dragon human treaty. Apophis led her forward to the more recent events, including when she contacted him for the first time and the battle between him and the humans. Elva was surprised to see that the prane could cause that much damage to a mighty dragon such as Apophis. Apophis released his hold on Elva and allowed her to return back to her own mind. Once there, she looked into Apophis’s eyes hard. “I will heal you. Just give me some time to come up with the right words to use.”
Elva took into consideration, how hard to make the scales, how shiny they should be, how large, how thick, and how rounded. Scales would be much harder to mend than human flesh. She wasn’t sure if it was even possible to fix him all the way. Non-the-less, she finally came up with a sentence that she felt would accomplish their goal. The spell was going to require a great deal of strength. She hoped that Apophis had a way to fuel the spell fully. “I’m ready.” She said.
Apophis grabbed her mind again and this time led it away from the earth. After they were up about a mile, Elva lost all feeling of her body. She began to feel like she was dying. Sensing this Apophis said “Do not fear human. You are not about to die. Do you not sense that?” Elva reached out and felt. There was a extreme conscious filtering through the empty space around them. She gaped at the shear strength it presented to her. Apophis used his own strength to shove Elva’s mind into the consciousness.
Then she understood. This was the moon. The place for those that laid down their lives for others. Their consciousness was never ending. The moon acted as a place for them to live on forever. This was what gave the moon its sheen and strange other worldly glow at night. Tears flooded her eyes as their happiness swarmed into her, making her feel warm. She had never felt anything like it. Then she said her sentence. “Opui condiate heil.” The words exploded throughout all the consciousnesses. It echoed through the moon and filtered down to the earth.
She felt her own mind flowing with it, returning to her body. Eagerness came over her as she entered the atmosphere and hurled toward the ground. Within seconds she was once again in her own body. The spirits of the moon repeated her phrase in song. “Opui condiate heil.” Their collected voices sounded like harmony and she felt as if the gates of heaven had opened to their song. With the song of magic, Apophis’s wounds sealed and were completely erased. The scales around them were glowing bright white. They shifted back into their original position and took their appropriate shape. Apophis’s eyes widened as the cuts on his face closed and disappeared.
Then he was whole again, and the flow of magic ceased along with their song. The spirits returned to their resting place, leaving Elva’s body. She opened her eyes. Her face was lined with tears. Their happiness still flowing in her. Pen walked over to her and with her mind she told him about the moon spirits and about the endless sea of power they possessed.
“An endless sea of power? This! This is great! This could be the solution that the resistance has been searching for!” Pen exclaimed. Elva’s face grew grim.
“The only way to contact them is through a dragon.”
Pen looked at Apophis. He doubted that the dragon would bother himself in human affairs, but figured that it was worth a try.
“I know what you are wanting to ask me Elva.” Apophis said, so that Pen and Elva could both hear. “I would be glad to help you. Besides, it would give me the chance to rid the world of more evil and wicked two-legs.” Apophis stood and surveyed the group of people surrounding him. They were all still in shock that they were in the presence of a dragon. “They are right to fear me.” He thought.
“So who is going to do it?” Pen asked Elva.
“We are going to have to go to the resistance hide out like we planned. You are going to need to learn how to use a sword. That is if you you don’t already know how to.”
Pen shook his head. He had never used one before. “Alright so the first order of business would be to find a sword for you. I started last night and found a few that you might be able to use.” she said. “I would also like to do some riders training with the two of you, you do plan on riding me right?” Apophis added. Elva smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Then the three of them returned to Harton, followed by the townspeople. “I think that if you made them Apophis, they would worship you.” Pen joked. Apophis laughed deep in his throat. His laugh was loud and thundering. It was much of what Pen had expected it to be.

******

Chapter 7:
Lethian Training

Apophis licked his teeth again. He had gotten nearly all of the blood off of them. After returning to their rooms and collecting their things, Elva and Pen joined Apophis out on the main street. “We have to go to the blacksmith down a few buildings.” Elva stated. “Pen needs a sword.” The three of them continued on to the blacksmith’s shop. Loud clangs of metal hitting metal exploded from the open sided building. Sparks flew in every direction as the blacksmith hammered a piece of softened metal into the shape he desired.
The man looked up. “Ah, Elva isn’t it?” She nodded.
“Yes right this way then. Now about your request from last night. I have prepared four possible swords for, this young man i assume. His figure fits your description. Then here you go son. Try holding these sword, see if any of them feel natural.”
Pen did as the man instructed. The first sword was flat and long. It widened at the top and curved slightly. He picked it up. It was obviously to heavy for him to use so without delaying he put in down. The next sword was much more slender than the last. Pen picked it up and examined it. The blade was two and a half inches wide. The hilt and guard together were about five inches long. It was a sword that could be wielded with one or two hands. Pen liked the idea of it and the blacksmith could tell. “That is a sword of my own make. It’s something that has not been done before.
The blade was smooth and sharp. It was more narrow in the middle and expanded slightly at the top. The hilt house two diamonds, one on top of the other. The one closest to the blade was a ruby, the next a sapphire. Its weight felt good in Pen’s hand. The leather on the grip was tinted red and the pommel on the edge of the hilt was golden, as was the guard. The fuller was dyed a light reddish color to match the leather. From the guard sprawled a ring that protected his hand. The langet of the sword had an inscription that Pen couldn’t read, and in the center of the blade was a blue design that was the blacksmith’s insignia.
“Yeah, my talents are being wasted here.” The man said. The man introduced himself as Uragaurd. “I’ve been living here for several years. Since there isn’t much call for weapons in this part, i spend a lot of my time refining my skills with metal.” He said. Uragaurd was a tall man with big arms. He was probably the biggest man Pen had ever met. His face however was soft and kind. His eyes were a dull brown and his hair had grayed at the tips from age. “That sword your holding is a special piece indeed. It was crafted from a metal that the gods sent to me. It has sentimental value to me. But i know you will put it to good use. Its name is Lethian. Which in The Language of Elders mean power.” Pen realized that the sword radiated with energy.
Uragaurd handed Pen the holster of Lethian. It was the same reddish color as the grip and fuller. Pen attached the holster to his belt and sheathed the sword. Elva clasped Pen’s shoulder. “The sword has already been payed for. Its time we leave.” Pen nodded and with Apophis they headed towards the butcher shop. There they picked up a hide and some meat for their journey. The resistance hideout was on the other side of Patheris, a country that was several hundred miles long. They knew the trip was going to take them months to complete. Elva had already traveled for weeks in search of the thief she never caught when she met Pen.
She had planned to maybe catch the thief and return him to the hide out. He had stolen precious document that could have ended the resistance. She at least managed to collect those again. They walked until a few hours before nightfall. Then they set up camp. Elva wanted to get in some sword practice with Pen before they slept. “Alright Pen, lets see what you can do.” She tossed him a stick that was equally as long as his sword. “What?”
She frowned “Hit me. If you can.” Pen hesitated, not sure if she really meant hit her. “Well? Are you going to make the first move or do you want me to.”
Pen laughed “Alright, but I’m warning you Elva. I won’t hold back.”
“By all means, please don’t hold back.” With that Pen charged and swung his stick at her. She stepped to the side slightly, allowing the stick to wiz passed her and strike the ground. Pen’s eyes widened. She moved so much faster than he had expected. “I’ll just have to try harder.” He swung at her knees, but she jump over the stick and kicked him in the chest, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending him flying onto his backside. Apophis laughed, which only fueled Pen’s anger. He scrambled to his feet and unleashed a furry of strikes at her. To Pen’s dismay, non of them landed on her. Then in one last futile attempt he swung at her face. She ducked and brought he fist upward with blinding speed. Her knuckles landed square on his chin and lifted him off his feet. Blood poured out of his mouth as he came crashing down to the ground.
Elva walked over and said “Heilia” The pain from his jaw vanished and the flow of blood stopped. Pen sat upright, disappointed with himself. “How do you move that fast?” She sat next to him and smiled. Pen i’ve several years of combat practice. She grabbed his hand. “I rather enjoyed that.” Apophis said. Elva giggled. Pen looked at her. He was still struck by her beauty. Her skin was soft and smooth against his. She tightened her grip on his hand and said. “Do you want to try again?” Pen nodded and they stood. He picked his stick up and readied himself. This time instead of randomly slashing with his stick, he tried to anticipate her moves. He swung at her knees and, like before, jump over it. This time Pen side stepped and avoided her kick. Surprise flashed across her face but was quickly replaced with a smile.
Then pen swung at her shoulder. But she managed to avoid it by deflecting it with her forearm. The stick made a smacking sound as it collided with her skin. The sound made Pen wince. He didn’t want to hurt her, but she didn’t seem to even notice the stinging sensation. “Come on Pen. You can do better than this.” Pen swung from left to right, something he hadn’t done yet. It was obvious that she didn’t expect it. It landed on her ribs. She lunged forward and punched at Pen. Her fist missed his face by a fraction of an inch. Her next punch was more precise. It landed directly on the left side of his face. Pen spun and swung his stick at her back. It landed and knocked her to the ground.
Elva jumped to her feet. “That actually hurt quite a bit.” She spun around and kicked Pen’s feet out from under him. This time though, he caught himself. He smiled and rushed her, swinging his stick at her neck. It landed with another smack and she fell limp.

When Elva opened her eyes, it was morning. Her body was sore from battling Pen without a weapon. He didn’t have any style yet but it put her at a great disadvantage to be un-armed. Next time, she would have a weapon as well. She sat up and healed her body.

******

Chapter 8:
Soul Eater

Pen gripped the long spike sticking out from Apophis’s spine in front of him. He pressed his legs together, to hold himself into the saddle they constructed earlier that morning with the skins they had purchased from Harton. The wind burned his eyes as the two of them accelerated. Apophis flapped his wings and increased his speed. Pen laughed and yelled out in excitement. He was flying on the back of a dragon. Apophis allowed himself to get into a comfortable flight pattern. The land below was a blur, and the air around them cold. Then, Pen felt something brush his mind and immediately he knew what it was. “Elva!”
“Pen, where are you?” He detected a sense of worry in her voice. He felt bad about not telling her before they left. “I’m flying with Apophis Elva! Oh i wish you could be here. Its amazing.” He allowed visions to cross over their connection. “Pen, there is something wrong.”
“What?” He asked.
“I’m not sure, but i sense something approaching our camp.” Pen relayed the message to Apophis, and they flew back to where Elva was waiting. From the air, Pen and Apophis could see that what she said was right. Along the edge of the horizon, a dark figure was speeding towards them. “I know what that is, and there is no way we can out run it. Not even on my back can the three of us escape it.” Apophis said to the both of them once they where on the ground. “It’s a soul eater. They are normal two-legs like you, but they allow themselves to become a host to the darkest magic there is. They supply the magic with souls to fuel it. And in return, the soul gives them extreme strength.” Elva gasped “The resistance talks about them a lot. They are the kings right hand men. They are always sent out on retrieval mission, or on assassin jobs. Pen, this is bad. Really bad. I don’t even think the combined efforts of all three of us can kill it.”
“Then what do we do? Can’t we fly on you?” Pen asked Apophis
“I cannot fly forever child. And it will surely catch up to us eventually.” Pen felt fear well up inside him. “Then we fight?”
“We fight.” Elva replied. “Before it gets here. You need to practice blocking your mind. If it gets into your mind, it will tear your mind free of your body and feed it to the magic. There has only ever been one person to ever kill a soul eater by fighting off the magic.”
“Who?” Pen asked
“The dark king himself. Now to block your mind you need to be able to sense the approach of a conscious. Once you feel it. Press against it as hard as you can. You mind will be in your body, so your mind will always be stronger than anyones that will try to enter yours. No matter how powerful the person. Now I’m going to try to enter your. Block me out.”
Pen shrunk his mind’s reach so that he couldn’t feel anything outside of his own head. Then he felt the familiar warmth of Elva’s mind. He hated to but he shoved against it. It wasn’t anything like he expected. It was like a hot and cold substance meeting one another. His mind was hot and hers was cool. He quickly over powered her and shoved her back to her body. “Good. Now try it against someone even stronger. Apophis, if you would please.” She said
Pen readied himself and once he felt Apophis, shoved against him. He quickly discovered that Apophis’s mind was much hotter than Elva’s, thus making it harder for him over power Apophis. The two struggled for several minutes, neither one giving way. Them Apophis’s mind cooled a significant amount and he retreated to his own body.
“I was unable to break through.”
Elva smiled. “Good again. How much time do we have Apophis.” He lifted his massive head up above them and examined the horizon. The soul eater was less than three miles away now. “We have no more than a few minutes.”

Apophis was right. It was a mere seven minutes when the soul eater was standing before them. Its skin was dark gray and his eyes where completely black. For a few minutes it just stood there. Looking them over. Then, in a snake like voice said “Which on of you isss Pen?” I cocked its head and walked towards Elva. She tightened her grip on the falchion. Pen did the same and was ready to swing Lethian with all the force in his being. Apophis, his eyes narrowing, let a small spur of flame shoot from his nostrils.
“Fine. You do not want to tell meee? Then i ssupposse I’ll bring you all back to Methiasss.” Pen yelled out and swung Lethian at the demented man. The blade sunk itself deep into his shoulder. The soul eater turned and pick Pen up by the throat. His wind pipe collapsed making it impossible for air to flow through it. “You insssect.” it hissed. It pulled Lethian free of its shoulder and flipped it around, grasping its hilt. “You dare to injure ME?” Pen watched as the open wound sealed itself up, leaving no trace of the deep cut that had been there. The soul eater drove Lethian through Pen’s stomach. Elva screamed and threw herself at the soul eater. She tackled it and yelled “heilia!” The blood rushing from Pen’s stomach stopped. He got to his feet and rushed to where Elva had landed. Apophis kept the soul eater busy while Pen attended to her.
Horror flooded him as he came upon her. Lethian had sliced its way into her lungs when she fell. Tears collected at the corner of his eyes.
“D-don’t leave me, Pen. Y-y-you need to he-heal me.” Pen grabbed her hand. Her fingers were cold. She was loosing a lot of blood. Apophis roared as the soul eater shoved Lethian into his side. Using his tail, he hit the man, sending him flying several yards. Apophis let out a giant ball of fire escape his mouth. It engulfed the soul eater, burning most of the skin off of his body. The dark magic wielded the man to live on and attack the dragon.
Pen was struggling to keep the magic healing Elva flowing. He dared not to open his mind to sap from another being. If he did, the soul eater would surely defeat him. But his own strength was failing him. He could feel his heart slowing. Elva reached up and touched his face. “ I need to help you.” she whispered. She expanded her mind and found a tree less than twenty feet away. She focused its energy into Pen, refueling him and allowing the spell to finish. The soul eater sensed that Elva had left her mind vulnerable and attacked her.
Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as her soul was ripped from her body. Pen grabbed her with his mind. Then looked at the soul eaters conscious. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. It was dark and distorted. It swirled around Elva. It was devouring her. Pen pushed against the soul eater. But it payed no mind. It was going to finish with her first. Helplessness filled Pen. He had to save her. She couldn’t die here today. He wouldn’t allow it.
Pen expanded his mind and tried to cover the dark mass surrounding Elva. He was unsuccessful. He shaped his conscious in the shape of a spear and hurled himself at the soul eater. Again he was unable to break through. The soul eater was in its body. There was nothing he could do to get in.
Apophis smashed the soul eaters skull beneath his large foot. Even so the man got to his feet and shoved Lethian into him again. There wasn’t anything left of the man. Apophis had taken his right arm, smashed his skull, and stripped him of his skin. And still the man lived. A gargling noise filled the man’s throat as blood filled in and air escaped in bubbles. The soul eater swung Lethian at Apophis again, slashing a six inch cut across the dragon’s chest. The Apophis tore the man’s body from his legs. The legs fell limp. But his torso crawled toward Apophis, still trying to kill him. Blood pooled around him as he inched his was toward the dragon, Lethian in hand. “Enough!” Apophis jabbed his talons into the soul eater and tore his body in half vertically. The bones that made up his spine cracked and broke and his sternum split in two.
The body lied motionless on the ground. Pen watched as the dark magic dissipated into nothingness, releasing Elva to her body. Then Pen returned to his own. Pen opened his eyes. The scent of blood was heavy in the air. The scene he was beholding made his stomach churn. “The bastard would not die. Not even after i crushed its tiny skull with my foot.” Pen was breathing heavy, from the exertion of effort. He had never seen anything a vile as the soul eater. He looked over to where Elva was laying. “She is unconscious. The soul eater absorbed mush of her being. She will need to repair the damages herself.” Apophis said. “I will carry her on my back, but this is going to slow us down. You will have to walk until she is able to hold herself in the saddle.”
Pen wasn’t sure how she would be able to fix her mind, but there were more important issues to solve at the moment. The only thing that mattered was that she was safe. “We need to move. When people find this. They are going to be terrified and come searching for whatever did this. And i think it best if we keep a low profile for right now.” Pen walked over to the mangled body of the soul eater and retrieved Lethian from its hand.
Apophis hummed and laid down, allowing Pen to put Elva on his back. Then using rope he found in her pack, strapped her fast to it. Once he was satisfied that she wouldn’t fall out he motioned to Apophis, and the two of them left the grotesque battle scene.

******

Chapter 9:
Teiram’s Guardian

A cold winter breeze rushed through Pens blonde hair. He shivered and wished he had clothes suited for winter whether. Small specs of snow fell from the light gray sky, and collected on the ground. The land around them was almost completely flat, aside from the tiny hills that popped up every once in a while. For the most part, Pen and Apophis walked in complete silence. There wasn’t much to be said. They stopped at night, and Apophis would allow Pen to curl up under his wing, so he would stay warm. Then in the morning, Pen would contact Elva to see how much progress the had made.
It was clear that it was going to take her a while to repair the damage. Since she was unable to move, Pen filtered energy into her nonstop from the insects, animals, himself, and Apophis. That kept her body from using up all of its energy. Then after checking on Elva, Pen would cover up their camp, and they would continue to walk in silence. They continued the process for more than a week. They met very few people on the road. Most people tended to stay in towns. The wilderness in Patheris was unsafe. Pen found that having Apophis with them kept most animals from attacking. The ones that would try, Apophis had for lunch.
“How far do you think we have walked?” Pen asked Apophis was intent on maintaining silence and did not answer. It angered Pen that the dragon would not allow himself to make friends out of another human. “This trip is going to be all the more miserable if you do not allow me to associate with you Apophis.” A growl emanated from his throat. The sound of it sent chills down Pen’s spine. He knew that challenging a dragon was foolish. “It is not that i do not want to associate with you human. I merely am enjoying the peace of the land. Can you hear the sounds of the world speaking to you?” For a while Pen strained his ears, trying to pick up on some kind of sound. But all he could hear was the gentle breeze in his ear, and the sound of his and Apophis’s steps. “Listen to the sky boy. How it’s gentle nature softens the feel of the air. And to the ground. Its hard and stubborn demeanor holding you up right in your boots. Without the two of them, there would be no world. Together they live in perfect harmony, yet they are exact opposites. It is this train of thought that the humans must adapt if they want to ever be free of the torments of war.” Pen was shocked at how wise Apophis truly was. It was impressive. And he understood what he meant. The humans had always been fighting. If they were not fighting each other, they were fighting the dragons, or the elves and dwarves. They had even had war with the hobbits of the Great Hills.
It was this behavior that made the humans a secluded race. “We are a violent race i know.” Pen said. Apophis growled in agreement. Pen felt himself lurch forward. He saw the ground rushing towards him. Then he tasted blood. He rolled onto his back and grabbed his face. He had tripped over a rock sticking out of the road. “Heilia.” he said. His bottom lip sealed and blood returned to it. A thundering roar filled the sky. He looked around for signs of danger. “Apophis! Whats going on! Whats wrong?!” He didn’t get an answer. Instead the roar continued. Then Pen realized what was going on. Apophis was laughing.
Pen’s cheeks turned hot. “I’m glad you enjoyed that dragon.” He said grimly.
“You...really hit the ground Pen.” Said the girl on Apophis’s back. Pen’s eyes widened. “Elva! Your conscious! Does that mean your done?” He said with a smile. A slight smirk curved her lips. “Not...quite. I still need more time...to constitute...myself again.” Pen grabbed her hand and nodded.
“I am a little...hungry though.” she said. He brushed the hair out of her face and smiled. He was so grateful that she was going to be okay. “We will stop for the rest of the night Apophis. She needs to rest properly.” Apophis bowed his head in agreement. “There is a town not far ahead. We could stop there and you two could rent a room for the night. It would be much better for her to be indoors tonight. It’s going to get cold.” Apophis said.
Just as Pen was about to say something, something above them roared, deafening them. All three of them looked up in search of the roar’s search. What thy saw was completely unexpected. It was a light blue dragon. The dragon circled above them and let an icy blue ball of smoke explode from its mouth. Pen felt a conscious push through him and fill his head with words. “What business have you in Teiram?” The question sounded more of a demand than anything. “State your business or Urie and myself shall attack.” Pen realized that it was not the dragon talking, but rather a person on its back.
They were in the presents of a rider. Riders were the most respected people in the world. They held powers far beyond that of any normal magician. They were mostly leaders of a city or town. Teiram was a small town, but housed great treasure beneath it and thus was a constant target for attack. It did not surprise Pen that the rider was on such high alert. Becoming a rider was a pain staking process and require much sacrifice. As a boy, Pen had always wanted to be a rider, but the chances of that happening for him, were very slim.
“We only wish to stay a night in one of your hotels.” The dragon above them collapsed its wings and hurled itself towards the ground. Unlike Apophis’s flight pattern, the blue dragon landed on the ground without opening its wings. A cloud of dust enveloped the area around them as the dragon collided with the ground.The dragon was slightly smaller than Apophis and much slimmer. Pen noticed Apophis’s face light up when her saw it.
“You must allow me and Urie to enter your mind and search it for any past evil or current plans of evil. Only then will we escort you through the walls of our town.” Said the man on the dragon’s back.
He grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it free of its holster. “Now you must allow my dragon to hold you in place. Lower you defenses.” Pen wasn’t sure if he could trust the rider. Not all of them were good. The king was evil and he had once been a rider. “You will do us one at a time. So as we can make sure that this is not some sort of trick.” Pen said to the man, who agreed. “I blame you not for your concern. These are dark times, and it will pay to be cautious, make no mistake about that. So i will do you first.” He said pointing at Pen.
Pen lowered all the defenses he had readied around his mind and felt the cool touch of the riders mind enter his own. “Your name is Pen. You have a history of hard ship throughout your life. You mother was murdered in a brutal manor. You are on your way to the resistance hide out with crucial information on a way the king may be defeated. You are indeed in need of a room to help the woman you are falling in love with survive, after she was wounded in a battle with a soul eater. Hmm. That is most impressive that you took down a soul eater. I have found no evidence that you will cause harm to Teiram.”
The rider left Pen’s mind and said “Now the girl. Are you ready?” Elva weakly nodded. The rider pushed forward until he found her ravaged conscious. “Your name is Elva. You have suffered a great deal in your life time. You have helped your town by capturing thieves many times. You are considered a bounty hunter and use your skills for the good of the resistance. You are not a rider like a had originally thought. The holes i am seeing in you are the wounds from the soul eater. It had surrounded your mind and was devouring it, but Pen managed to slow it long enough for the black dragon you travel with to kill it. I am also seeing an overwhelming happiness flow through you from an unimaginable source of power. I’m not sure what it may be, but it is not evil.”
After leaving Elva’s mind he walked over to Apophis. “Dragon, may i have your permission to enter your mind.” The rider bowed and said “Ne grand teri laon.” Apophis bowed and touched the rider on the crown of his head with his snout. “Thank you great beast.” Then the rider entered Apophis’s mind. “Your name is Apophis. Though you have great pride in your race, you consider them foolish for creating a treaty with the humans. You against all odds befriended a human who’s death you were wrongly accused of. You have been pursued by them until you were drove to extinguish them. You again have found humans with whom you maybe able to befriend and you wish to help them complete their cause to rid the world of the wicked king. You also have eyes for my dragon Urie. Be warned Apophis. She can be quite feisty and will not accept your rouse easily.”
“I have deemed you all worthy to enter Teiram. Be warned, if i even sense that you are about to strike our town, I’ll will lay you down on the spot. My name is Rien and this is my dragon Urie. We hope you enjoy your stay in Teiram. You will find it to be a peaceful sanctuary from the evils of the world.”

******

Chapter 10
The Belaroughe

Rien and Urie lead them through the massive walls that surrounded Teiram. Inside, the three of them were shocked to find that the city was much larger than they had been told. Buildings were stacked in long rows to long to count. The city was shaped in the shape of a circle. All the buildings faced the central building. The central building towered above the rest of the buildings around it. Sentry towers were placed all around it and on giant tower stuck straight out of the middle. The sight of the building awed Pen. The street bustled with activity.
Pen imagined that it was hard to walk through the streets without bumping into people. They however did not have that problem. The people were clearing a path for Urie and Rien. “This is the cities busiest hour!” Rien shouted above the sound of the crowd. People were bowing to Rein, as if he were a king. They were saying things like “Hail the mighty ice dragon!” or “Bless Rien the Great.” It made Pen wonder what kind of greatness Rien had achieved.
“You seem very busy little one.” Said a voice he did not recognize. It took him a few seconds to realize that Urie was speaking to him. “Your mind is racing with many thoughts.” Her voice was nothing like Apophis’s. It was soft and inviting. It made Pen feel warm. “I have a lot to think about great dragon.” Pen replied as respectfully as possible. The sky blue dragon chuckled. Rien was talking to Elva. Pen felt jealousy welling up inside of him. He knew that it was harmless and he had no reason to feel that way, but he couldn’t help himself. “Do not allow Rien to test at you little one. He is a very proud man, and is married. He would never betray his betrothed. That is simply something he could not every do.” Pen knew she was speaking the truth. “How do you know he never would?” Urie lifted her head and said “Rien and I share an unbreakable bond with one another. The connection that draws us together makes us inseparable. I know everything there is to know about him. As any dragon should with their rider.”
They stopped in front of a large stone building. It was taller than most buildings Pen had laid eyes on. He counted seven windows from the ground. “This is where the two of you will be staying.” Rien said to Elva and Pen. “Apophis, you will come to the stables and stay with Urie for the night.” Pen nodded and helped Elva unstrap herself from the saddle on Apophis’s back. Once off, she placed her arm around his neck for support. “The man you will find behind the counter’s name is Pacco. I’m going to give you a bode of foreshadowing, He is a very strange man. Just tell him that Urie and myself have rented you the suite for the night.” Rien said as he climbed onto Urie’s back. Pen was about to thank him but Urie interrupted him. “Think nothing of it. You have all been through much recently and are much in need of a good rest. Consider it a welcoming gift from us to you.” Pen nodded and helped Elva up the stairs leading to the main entrance of the hotel.
Apophis joined Urie and Rien on the street. “Keep her safe now Pen. She is a keeper!” He yelled out with his mind as they vanished deeper into the city. Elva blushed feeling spoiled.
“You two are far to kind to me Pen.” She said.
“We only do it to make you happy.” He replied
“Your so modest.”
They made their way up the stair and into the building. It took a minute or two for their eyes to adjust to the interior light of the hotel. But once they did, they were awe stricken. The lobby was beautiful. The walls were painted in an elegant red. The floors were made completely of marble and were polished to the point that they were almost reflective. The roof had a complex system of lines and colors that all ran into the most stunning thing about the room.
In the center of the roof hung a massive diamond, sculpted into the shape of dragon. The diamond was the same color as Urie, the same color as the sky. Its detail obviously had taken many years to complete. But what surprised Pen the most, was the vast ocean of energy he felt radiating from the stone. There was enough energy in it, that he could see the energy clearly. Who ever sculpted the dragon had purposely left a cavity in the spot where a dragon’s heart would be. All the energy had collected in that cavity and was causing the cavity to shine white. The shining cavity lit the entire room with vibrance. It was unlike anything Pen had ever seen.
“It’s so beautiful.” Pen heard Elva whisper.
“Yes, zee look on your faces is exactly what everyones looks like zee first time they see it. Always with zee shock and surprise.” Said a man standing behind the counter.
“Your...Pacco, correct?” Pen asked
“Correct you are man. Welcome to zee Belaroughe. Zee fanciest hotel in Patheris. We pride ourselves in high hospitality and a clean and unique experience, You will find many things here you cannot find anywhere else.” Pacco said, almost without stopping to breath.
“Thats all fine, but i’m in a hurry. She needs to get off her feet.”
“Oh yes you are here to rent a room no?” Pacco Asked
“No we are here to rent one, Urie and Rien told us to tell you that they have rented us the suite for the night.”
“Hmm Rien has taken a liking to you has he. Well, right this way folks. We will be to the suite in no time because here at the Belaroughe we pride ourselves in high hospitality and a clean and unique experience.”
Pacco lead them to a hallway behind the counter and to a single door, concealed by a shelf lined with books.
“Now eh, you must promise to never tell anyone where zee location of our suite is okay? okay.” Pacco said. Then without allowing them time to respond he slid his fingers into a slot without a book. He pulled on something and the bookshelf make a click. Then it disconnected from the wall and swung out, supported on a set of four large hinges. Behind the book shelf was a door with a series of locks on it. Pacco undid the locks and opened the door. The room inside was as black as night, making it impossible to see the interior of it. Pacco handed Pen a candle. “Here this should give you some light for zee time being. I will return in a few minutes to light your crystal.” He said as he left, shutting the door behind him.
The room felt cold and damp. “Something is wrong Pen.” Elva said, her voice still to weak to be much more than a whisper.
“I feel it to. Lets get out of here.” Pen and Elva made their way towards the door. Pen grabbed the handle and pulled. It had been re-locked from the outside.
“It’s locked.” He told her.
“What is going on? Pen see if you can reach Apophis.” Pen expanded his mind. He frowned with dismay. “I can’t reach anything outside of this room. There’s something blocking my mind.”
“So what, were stuck in here?” She asked. Pen didn’t answer right away. “I’ll find a way out.”

******

Chapter 11
Granite

Apophis laid down in a soft bed of straw, aside to Urie. “Have you ever been paired with a rider Day Dreamer?” She asked him. He growled, letting her know that he had no plans of having a rider. Apophis looked around the large barn they were laying in. The roof was over thirty feet tall, and it was more than forty feet from wall to wall. Apophis still felt confined, making him uneasy. “I dream one day of leaving this town.” Urie said. “We both do.” motioning with her snout to Rien, who was busy tending to his sheep. “A rider is not meant to be a body guard, no matter how important it may be.” Apophis had never seen the point in sacrificing ones own freedom to become something that to him, made little to no difference in the world.
Dragons were becoming more and more scarce in the land, and Apophis held himself high as one of the last independent. Still, he longed for a mate. “The moon is beautiful tonight, do you not agree.” He said, lessening the tension between himself and Urie. She agreed and allowed herself to loosen. She stretched her wings and yawned. “We best be getting some rest now. In the morning, Rien and myself have some pressing matters to attend to.” Apophis was curious of course, but closed his eyes and rested his head on his folded fore legs.

Pen shoved his fists against the door of the room him and Elva where trapped in. The impact bloodied his knuckles, the door was impossible to break through. “That door must be at least five inches thick.” he said to Elva. “Do you think you could fragment a spell to break it? Or even weaken it?” She frowned and shook her head, a move that Pen barely caught due to the small amount of light the candle in her had offered. “I can’t try it with out an energy source to feed off of. Its to risky for me to do it with my own energy. We don’t know how much power it would take to break through.” she said.
“Damn it! What are we going to do?! We can’t stay in here forever.” Pen exclaimed
Just has he did, the door swung open. The light coming through the door blinded him. He couldn’t tell who it was or what they were doing here. “Ah so you have captured him. Very good. I will report this to the king. He will be most pleased.” a voice said.
“Yesh. I have done as you asked. Now, about zee money?” Pen instantly recognized the voice as Pacco.
“You will get your gold all in due time my friend. Bring the girl up to my room.” the voice said. Pen’s eyes were beginning to adjust as Pacco headed towards Elva. “No you don’t!” Pen yelled, pulling Lethian from its holster. He swung his sword at Pacco, with the intent to kill. Lethian stopped just shy of his neck, stopped by the blade of the man with Pacco. The man shoved Pen’s sword away from Pacco’s neck. “Leave her alone!” he yelled, swinging his sword at the man. He parried Pen’s blow and struck back with a blow of his own. The man’s sword rushed towards Pen’s knees. He smiled and jumped over the sword, as Elva had with Pen many times. Then, following his teachers exact moves, Pen pulled his self horizontally and kicked the man in the chest.
The man flew backwards and dropped his sword next to Pen’s on the stone floor of the cell. The man and Pen both struggled to get to their feet,winded from the impact of the floor.
Once Pen had collected himself he looked up to see the man’s sword heading straight for his face. Fear shot up his spine as the sword neared his face. Quick as a rabbit, Pen ducked and avoided the attack. He again decided to follow Elva’s moves and brought his fist up square with the man’s chin knocking him off his feet. Upon impact, Pen felt the man’s jaw snap. The man grasped his face and yelled out in agony. Pen took this opportunity to blanket the man’s conscious with his own and hold him there.
His victory was short lived however. Something hit Pen in his the right side of his face and knocked him to the floor. Then all Pen saw was blackness.
“You left him armed?!” The man said.
“I did not see his sword master.” Pacco replied, holding Elva’s mouth, tears streaming down her face.
“Heilia.” Pacco said, healing the man’s shattered jaw. Pacco drug Elva out of the room and shut the door behind him, leaving Pen in the darkness beyond it.

Apophis stretched his relaxed muscles and opened his eyes. He found himself staring directly into Urie’s eyes. “Good morning sunshine.” She said. Apophis shook his head and stood. “I am sure Elva and Pen are waiting for me by now.”
“Ah, yes i would imagine your friends have awaken by now. I sure hope they enjoyed their stay at the Belaroughe last night. I’ve always wanted to stay there myself, but as you are well aware, we are both to big.”
That made Apophis laugh. “I will accompany you to the Belaroughe. I’m vaguely sure that you do not know the route yet anyways.” Urie said.
“I’m sure Rien will want to come with us.” Apophis said. Urie bowed her head, her eyes soft upon him. “Or maybe just the two of us can go? I’ve always wanted to know a Daydream.” The sudden proposal shocked Apophis. It normally took a dragon several years of small moves to find a mate. Urie was accepting him without a second thought on the matter.
Together the two of them took to the air. Apophis admired Urie’s features from above. Her light blue scales looked magnificent in the morning light. The blue beads of light they shot scattered on the ground several feet below. Her wings were wider than Apophis’s and were much more aerodynamic, giving her increased speed over Apophis. The membrane on her wings were a darker blue than her scales and along her back, unlike Apophis’s long spikes, she had retractable spikes. Much like a porcupine does. Her eyes were a silvery grey and her talons were the same dark blue as her wing membrane. Her figure was much more sleek than his own. He wondered what sort of fire she possessed.
Some dragons had just fire. Some dragons had liquid fire, like Apophis. Some dragons had lightning capabilities. Some dragons had no fire, but rather had barbed tongues that shot out several feet. Still some dragons had other elements. Such as wind, water, and even magma. But Apophis had never before seen a dragon of Urie’s color or shape. She fascinated him to no ends. Even the soft and soothing sound of her voice was unique. “What kind of dragon are you Urie?” He asked. She flew for another few minutes before slowing and floating up to his side. Her eye met his and she stared deep into him.
“I do not know.” She said finally.
“There is no name for me, as i am the only one of my kind.” Her voice had a twinge of sadness behind it. “It is disheartening to be the only one of my kind.” Silence fell between them after that.

Pen positioned his self against the cold wall of the cell. His head was still throbbing from the force of the impact from Pacco’s club. He wasn’t sure which wall the door was actually on. So he felt his way along the unfamiliar material that made the walls of the cell. It was cool and smooth under his palms, like glass. But it was stronger than the steel of Lethian.He inched his way around the room and was surprised to find that the door was not there.
“How am i to escape, if i do not know where the door is?” He asked himself. He slumped on the floor, feeling as if all hope had been lost. It pained him to think what the man might do to Elva. Her innocent face refused to leave his thoughts, like poison in his mind. The sorrow of loosing her was near equal to that of his mother. His mother, however, would be fine. He was certain that she had joined the ranks of the self sacrificing souls of the moon.
That thought eased her death for Pen. This would not be the case if the man killed Elva. Pen knew he had to get out then. He couldn’t allow this man to take her from him. He summoned the will to fight on and got to his feet. This time though, a stronger determination had taken hold of him.

Apophis slanted into a slight decline, following Urie’s exacts movements. The light blue dragon unfolded her wings and came to a halt in a small patch of grass just outside of Teiram. Apophis did the same. “It’s not smart to fly directly into town.” Urie said as Apophis neared her.
“Something is bothering you Day Dream.” She said. Apophis looked at the ground in front of him, his eyes narrowing.
“I can’t find Elva or Pen. I’m certain they are not in that city. I’ve searched everything from the smallest insects, to the biggest of mammals in there. Their conscious is no where to be found.”
“I’m sure they are just fine Apophis.” she replied.
“I would still like to make haste.” He said. She could feel the sense of urgency in his voice, so she nodded in agreement and led Apophis into a run. Together they sped towards the Belaroughe.

Pen rammed his fist into the wall, hoping to find the door. But he only succeeded in splitting his knuckles. “Damn it!.” he exclaimed as hot, red liquid fell from his freshly opened wound. “Heilia.” He stood still and focused his energy into fueling the spell. once it was finished he leaned against the wall for support. The spell drained him of more energy than he had predicted.
“There has to be a way out of here.” Pen shaped his mind into Lethian. Then he angled his mind so that he would be able to get the full force he needed behind the move he was about to pull. He forced his mind forward as hard as possible but again he found himself trapped by the unknown force surrounding the room. His mind bounced off the invisible barriers and retreated back into his body. He let out a scream as helplessness replaced his determination.
Tears collected at the corners of his eyes and ran southward. He dropped to his knees as the tears fell from his face and splashed on the rock floor of the cell. “Why is this happening?” He asked himself through sobs. All in the room became silent, aside from the gentle sound of his tears hitting the rock beneath him.

Apophis and Urie approached the Belaroughe about 20 minutes after their flight began. Urie could feel panic sweeping Apophis as they neared the perimeter. “What has become of them.” Apophis asked her. Urie shook her head. Apophis’s panic was replaced with anger. He let out a fearsome roar that shattered the windows in the front of the Belaroughe. The people surrounding them ran, terrified of Apophis’s burning rage, as they should have been. Pacco came running through the front doors of the Belaroughe.
“What is zee meaning of this dragon?!”
“I want to know where my friends are insect.”
“They left this morning! They said somezing about finding their true calling among the ranks of the kings army.” Urie growled, obvious to Pacco’s lie.
“Enough of this foolishness human. Where have they gone? And I would be careful about your answer this time.” she said.
Pacco swallowed hard and said. “I cannot tell you what is becoming of them. For as fearsome as you are, the king will see to it that my soul is tortured for eternity if i allow the boy to escape.” he said.
Apophis barred his fangs. He bent forward so that his eyes where level with Pacco’s. “You will tell me, or i will tear this building apart and burn it to the ground, with you inside.” Pacco stood, trembling at the thought. “The boy is inside. I will not allow him to leave this building. But he is safe right now. The king is on his way to retrieve him.”
“What business has the king with Pen?” asked Apophis.
“The boy is the one. The foretold savior of Patheris. He is to liberate the world from the darkness Mathias has covered the world with.”
“You want to keep him from doing this? You humans do not make sense to me.”
“Pacco, please allow the boy to leave. We will protect you from the king. Don’t make this any harder than it already is for us.” Urie pleaded.

Pen was sitting against the wall of the cell. His face was still wet from his tears. He had given up on trying to escape. He now knew that there was no escape from the cell. But he managed to find asylum in his thoughts.
~He was in the greenest valley in the world. The sky overhead was cloudless and deep blue. The sun was setting behind a set of mountains to his left, and in front of him was Elva. Her radiant beauty was far greater than that of all the land. A soft smiled curved her lips has the two of them spun around, hand in hand. The landscape beyond her blurred, until it was only her that Pen could make out. Her dark hair glistened in the orangish glow of the sun as they fell together into the soft grass below. Laughter filtered through the air as they held each other. Pen had never felt love like this. His heart raced with excitement.~
A click snapped Pen from his joyous thoughts, and he was in the cell once again. The click had come from across the room. The squeak of the door hinges, followed by an intense ray of light signified that some one had opened the door.
“Get up boy, you must hurry. I do not know how long it will be until the king arrives.” Pacco said as he rushed to Pen and helped him from the ground.
“We need to leave as soon as possible.”
“Where is Elva?!” Pen yelled as they entered the lobby of The Belaroughe.
“She is with Granite.” Pacco replied.
“There you are Pen. Where is Elva? Is she not with you?” Apophis asked as they exited the tattered hotel.
“No, Pacco said she was taken by a man named Granite. We need to find her. I dueled Granite in the Cell and easily over powered him. But Pacco knocked me unconscious and he left with her.” Pen stated.
“I can still not find her conscious. It is possible that this Granite is blocking her mind with his own. In that case, maybe i should look from him.” Apophis stood still for the next several minutes. Pen could only imagine how difficult it would be to sort through all of the minds in Teiram. The city was unbelievably large and filled with people and creatures of all sizes. Apophis would have to find one mind, among millions. An hour passed, an still Apophis did nothing. He didn’t even appear to be breathing. By that time Rien had joined them. Pacco informed him of the events and apologized repetitively.
“I will help you rescue your missing friend.” Rien said as he walked towards Pen. “I’ve wanted to leave this blasted city for many years. I want adventure and excitement. Things a dragon and rider should have.”
Pen nodded and gratefully said “I am sure we will need all the help we can get.”
“There.” Apophis said suddenly. “I have located them. It would not have taken so long, but we have a problem.”
“What’s that?” Urie asked.
“Granite is a rider. He is flying west of here. His dragon is a Night Stalk.” Apophis replied.
“This is bad. Night Stalks are immensely powerful. Maybe ever as mush as you Day Dream. They are the darkest incarnation of a dragon we know of. The only other one i can think of that may be as vile is the Hydra. And there is only one in existence. The king’s red Hydra.” Rien said “Pen, are you Apophis’s rider?”
Pen shook his head.
“Will you be willing to fight from Apophis’s back?” He asked
“Apophis and I have done some training.” Pen said.
“Good, i doubt that Urie and I ourselves can take out a Night Stalk. We are going to need your assistance.”
Pen climbed onto Apophis, followed by Pacco. “Your are good with spells, so you are in charge of keeping us healthy, got it?” Rien said to Pacco, who nodded in agreement.
“Oh wait a minute!” Pacco exclaimed as he jump form Apophis’s back. He ran into The Belaroughe and disappeared behind its perimeter. After a few minutes he ran out, holding Lethian in his left hand.
“I am sure you will be needing this.” He said as he handed the sword to Pen.
Pen slid Lethian into its holster and gripped the spike in front of him. Apophis vibrated with exuberance below him as they readied themselves for battle. Urie lunged into the air, followed close by Apophis. The two dragons seemed to be in sync. The beat of their wings were even. A steady rhythm filled the air. Excitement coursed through Pen as they rushed towards Granite and his dark dragon.
“I can feel the dragons conscious!” Pacco yelled from behind him, the wind nearly drowning his voice. Pen to, could feel the dragon. It was much different from Apophis or Urie. It was filled with rage and resentment. Pen wondered how it was possible to cooperate with something so angry and frustrated at all times.
“Ready yourselves. They know we are coming for them” Apophis said. Pen Tightened his grip on the spike and gritted his teeth together. He yelled out as the dragon came into sight. His yell echoed through the dark dragons conscious. Immediately the dragon whirled around and glared directly at Pen. Its gaze burnt through him. The dragon roared, rumbling the air around them.
It flapped its massive wings and rushed towards Apophis and Pen. It was easily twice as large as Apophis and nearly three times as big as Urie. Its scales where white and it was clear that the dragon was powerful. “Night Stalks have shadow fire, stay clear of it. Unlike normal fire. Shadow fire will not spread, but rather will suck the life straight out of the object it is burning.” Rien yelled to them. Pen scanned the Dragon for Elva. She was grasped tightly in the dragons massive talons.

Chapter 12:
Battle Above Green Valley

Pen freed Lethian of its holster and twisted it around into the proper position. Rien did the same with his sword. Apophis returned the dark dragons roar with his own powerful roar. He allowed jets of liquid fire to escape his maw. Heat rushed over Pen. It felt surprisingly good. The waves of heat blurred Pen’s vision as Apophis forced out a full explosion of fire towards the rapidly approaching Night Stalk.
Granite’s sword shimmered in the crisp morning light. It flashed as he swung it at Urie. The sword landed on its target. It effortlessly slip passed her scales and sunk into her flesh. She roared and spun around so that she was underneath the dragon. She opened her mouth, a blue cloud engulfing the dark dragon. It roared out in pain. Pen struggled to see what was happening to it. Behind him he heard “Heilia.” Pacco was healing Urie’s wound.
The dark dragon appeared from behind the smoke. Pen was stunned to see ice had covered the majority of the underside of it. “She breathes ice!?” He exclaimed. Apophis quickened his wings, speeding towards the dark dragon. The two dragons collided. It took every ounce of Pen’s being not to be thrown from Apophis’s back. Pacco hugged the spike in front of him, screaming out in terror as the impact shook them. Granite swung his sword at Pen, as Apophis and the dark dragon exchanged blows. Pen blocked the sword and returned with his own attack. Granite was able to stop Lethian from hitting himself. Pen swung again. This time from left to right. The sudden change in movement must have caught Granite by surprise for Lethian Sliced its way through Granite’s stomach. The dark dragon used its hind legs and pushed Apophis from himself. Granite yelled out “Heilia!” sealing his fresh wound. Pen noticed that Granite was not healing his dragons wounds. “That could be our only chance.” He said to himself.
“Apophis. Aim for the underbelly of the dragon. Granite isn’t healing his dragon’s wounds.”
“ How do we free Elva from the dragon’s grip?” Apophis asked him as they rushed towards Granite and his dragon.
“Leave that to me.”
Again the dragons collided violently. Once he was steadied Pen turned in the saddle and placed his feet under himself. He waited until he was certain he had a clear shot. Once he was certain he did, he jumped from Apophis’s back. He shoved Lethian deep into the dragons leg. Blood poured from the wound and ran over Pen. Pen held onto Lethian and reached down to Elva. She looked up at him. She was scared, but she managed to grab Pen’s hand. She pulled her falchion from its holster and sliced at the dragon’s leg. With each blow, she could feel the dragon’s grip loosening, until she was freed of the dragon’s talons. Pen yelled out as his hold on Lethian’s handle weakened with Elva’s added weight. “Apophis! Now!” He screamed.Apophis pushed himself away from the dark dragon and positioned himself below it. Elva released Pen’s hand and dropped onto Apophis’s back. Pen knew that it would be impossible for him to land on Apophis with Elva and Pacco both.
“Take Elva into the city! Then come and get me.” Pen yelled to Apophis.
Apophis hesitated but did as he was told and rushed to the city below. Urie attacked the dragon from above, oblivious to Pen below. With each of Urie’s attacks, Pen grip on the handle weakened. For several minutes Urie’s assault continued. Pen was horrified as Lethian began to slip free of the dragons leg. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth together. The sword cam free from the leg. Pen felt weightless as he hurled towards the ground.
He opened his eyes to see the dark dragon getting smaller as he rushed to his fate. The dragon roared as another cloud of ice covered it. Pen, then was glad he was not there. He would have been frozen solid. The dark dragon shot back with his own blast of shadow fire. Urie countered with another burst of ice. The two elements met in a mass of explosion and smoke.
Pen’s heart raced as he neared the ground. The force of the air caused his eyes to water. He screamed as the ground came into view. He was less than 300 feet above it. The rapidly approaching ground sent fear into Pen. He looked around trying to find a way to save himself. Urie roared overhead as the dark dragon sunk its teeth into her. “Urie! Help me!” he pleaded out of desperation.
But Urie was trapped by the dragon’s powerful jaws. Pen hurled passed a cliff, missing it by inches. Then he had an idea. He shoved Lethian deep into the rock face of the cliff. Pen smiled as he began to slow. He held onto Lethian with all his strength. But it was rapidly abandoning him. He then called upon the trees and grass around him for strength. The flow of energy replenished his muscles. He slid to a complete halt less than seventy feet above the ground. His heart was beating in his chest like a drum.
He looked up at the dueling dragons hundreds of feet above. He couldn’t make out what was happening. He was able to catch the sudden flicker of blue light from Urie’s scales and the white from the dragon’s, but that was about the extent of it. “Apophis, where are you?”
“I’m coming child. You nearly killed Elva with that little free fall.”
“Elva isn’t the only one that about died...”
Then Pen could see the black dragon above. Apophis dove towards the spot where Pen was hanging on the cliff.

Urie snapped at the dark dragon, missing the foul beast. The dragon clawed at her, tearing several scales from her side. Rien had been badly wounded and was busy attending to his own wounds. This left Urie to deal with the pain the dragon was inflicting on her. She released a cloud of ice. The cloud covered the dark dragons head. Urie used this opening and forced her teeth into the dragons neck. She squeezed with all her might, on the dragons spinal cord. Her powerful jaws shattered the dragon’s spine. The dragon winced once, and then fell. It was paralyzed. Granite screamed out as the pain in his dragon’s neck rushed over their connection.
He clasped the back of his neck as the two of them fell to the ground below. Pen watched as the pair fell passed him and landed with a muffled thud. He shuddered as he thought about himself meeting the same end.

Apophis landed on the cliff, allowing Pen and Pacco to climb down off of him. Urie soon joined them. Rien climbed down holding his thigh. “I was unable to heal my leg fully.” He said as he limped towards Pen. “I ran out of energy. and i wouldn’t dare to endanger Urie by using hers in the middle of a fight.”
Pen smiled and healed Rien’s leg.
“That was an unique experience.” Pacco said. “I’ve not been so terrified in all my life!”
Pen examined Lethian and was surprised to find that the sword had taken absolutely no damage. “This sword is amazing.” he said to himself.
Pacco peered over his shoulder. “Ah yes. It is quite the weapon indeed. I imagine the creator was very talented.”
“His name is Uragaurd. He made this sword by his own make. Its the first of its kind.” Pen stated.
Rien pulled his sword free and showed it to Pen. “My sword also was made by a man named Uragaurd. He at one time was a forger for the resistance.”
Pen admired the craftsmen ship of the blade. It rivaled that of his own. And in the center of the sword was the same blue insignia on Lethian.
“That is a riders sword you have there Pen. It will never chip, never wear out, and never loose it luster. I imagine Uragaurd made that sword while still in the resistance. Its probably the last rider sword he forged. He must have hung onto it.”
Pen was shocked that he wielded a riders sword. He had just engaged in a rider’s battle with one of the most powerful dragons in existence. It amazed him at how drastically his life had changed since the death of his mother. Pen looked down at his left hand. He removed the glove from it and examined Blodgaram. The rings radiating glow again captured his gaze.
“Where did you get that ring?!” Rien exclaimed.
“My grandfather gave it to me the day he died.” he replied
“That ring belonged to Blodgaram the Great! The most powerful dragon rider who ever lived! Stories were told of the great Blodgaram and his Day Dream dragon, Pheonix. Of how they sing handedly stopped the beast of the sky from destroying our world. Pheonix was the only dragon to ever trade her life for their riders. Blodgaram was nearly defeated by Mathias, but she saved him by sacrificing himself. After that nobody knew what happened to Blodgaram. He vanished.”
“My grandfather was a rider?!”
“Not a rider, the rider. The best of the best. Its said that he left behind a ring, the ring of the bold to whoever he deemed would stop Mathias’s evil rule over Patheris. This means its you. Once you do something bold and heroic, its said that the ring will open itself to you and you will be able to talk to Blodgaram himself and train with him.”
“He’s dead, how is that possible?”
“No body knows. But i believe it to be true.”
Pen stared deep into the blue ring, captivated by its energy. “Maybe, its possible that he isn’t dead...”
Just then Apophis returned with Elva. Pen hadn’t realized that the dragon had left.
“Your alive! Thank god!” She threw her arms around him and embraced him. Her body was soft against his. He wrapped his arms around her back and held her. He smiled as the warm feelings of love rushed him. She released him from her embrace and sighed, “Granite is dead, his dragon is to. We checked on them on the way here. Pen, are you alright? You look...Pen?”
“It has been far to long my son. I long to see you again, but even as i gave you the ring, i could feel my own life force slipping. I am well aware of the events tat have taken place since my departure, and you need not to explain anything to me. You have all the traits of a rider and although you do not have a dragon, Pheonix and i will train you as if you had one.” Tears collected at the corner of Pen’s eyes as the voice of his grandfather filled his head.
“Grandfather...”

End Of Book One
Book Will Continue In Book Two:
The Shadow King

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 04.01.2011

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