A thin, green-glowing teenaged boy ran through the foggy woods of the mountain in the dead of the night, breathing heavily as he fled his pursuers. He wore a sleeveless garment with a V-shaped, low cut neck and a pair of shorts. A small orange bag hung from his back. On his feet were a pair of fine leather sandals he’d made himself.
“Hey! Boy! Come back here!” someone yelled. “You sneaky… “ The owner of the voice was joined by five other shadowy figures following the green glow.
“Leave me alone!” the boy yelled back.
He skidded to the left, sliding across the grasses down the side of the mountain, and hid himself within a crevice. He clenched his fist and closed his dark brown eyes tightly and the green glow disappeared from his brown skin.
They stopped and stood at the edge of the mountain, scanning the whole area.
“Where is he?” A lady asked, panting slightly.
They heard the unexpected clanking sound of heavy footsteps from behind and turned to see a hairy, middle-aged man with a scar slashing through his left eye, adorned in a glowing suit of armour with that iconic symbol of the nobles on the breastplate come forth out of the fog.
“Lord Jared?” they cried in shock, bowing.
They parted to allow Lord Jared to pass through them. He raised his right hand.
“Sniffia, go get him,” he ordered.
A blond, teenaged girl came forward, clothed in a fur vest, skintight trousers, and leather boots. She knelt down on one knee and lowered her head causing the end of the plaited braid that crowned her brow to fall forward over her well-muscled shoulder. “Yes, Lord Jared, the Divine Humane.”
Standing up, she raised her chin, sniffing the whole area as the fog flowed in her flared nostrils and out again. She looked down the mountain with her venomous little eyes. “I scent him. He is below us.”
Jared smiled. “Bring him here; we need him. Dead or alive.”
She nodded, then slowly walked down the mountain, sniffing.
Meanwhile the teenage boy swallowed, shivering within the crevice. “Grandma, what should I do?” he said.
Above, Lord Jared and his underlings watched Sniffia as she slowly slid down the same grasses the boy had only just escaped down.
Suddenly, they heard a deep roar in the distance, thundering continuously. Jared looked at the direction of the loud, deep, cry. His eyes dilated as the tremendous figure lit up the whole place with its majestic light.
“A dragon… How? I thought they were still in hibernation?” he said, backing away from the beast.
“Incoming!” someone shouted.
Suddenly, a ball of fire flew at them from the dragon’s mouth. It burst onto the ground where they stood, disrupting Sniffia. She slipped, almost falling off the grassy cliff. Sniffia caught herself on a small crack caused by the impact of the ball of fire.
“Ughhh!” she grunted, looking up at the vast flame separating her from Jared and his underlings, unable to see them through the growing inferno. The fire reflected in her similarly orange eyes, catching the warm brown stripes and setting the green streaks aglow. Her upturned eyes immediately went round in alarm. “Lord Jared!” she cried.
Jared tried to rush to her aid, but the flames pushed him back. He clenched his teeth, raising his hands towards the flames. A strong wind blasted out from his hands to the flames but to no avail, the flames refused to be quenched. He marveled at the monster, a crazed look in his eyes, while his underlings shot every element they knew of at the dragon.
“Stop. It has no effect. Dragons are immune to our potencies,” Jared said as he knelt down in front of the flame, its colors changing each time he shot his air into it. He could fly over it, but the shock that a dragon was right above him overwhelmed his desire to do anything but to anxiously call out to her, staring at the vast fire’s changing shades. “Sniffia? Are you still there?”
Below, Sniffia tried to pull her body up. “Yes, my Lord… I… ” Her voice was lost in her efforts.
The heat of the flames traveled through the crevice. As the temperature rose, the teenage boy shakily crawled towards the exit, exposing his head and half his upper body.
Without warning, the dragon fired another ball of fire towards Sniffia. She shrieked.
“Sniffia!!” Jared cried, shooting up.
Sniffia gracefully dodged the blast by jumping to the other side, grabbing onto the edge of the cliff. Her fingernails splintered on the hard stone, her mouth pinned shut, holding back her scream. “I’m alright. Lord Jared.” she said, her wobbly voice betraying her words.
Jared gazed intently at the sky, watching the dragon soar around them. “Why now? Why is the dragon awake?” he wondered aloud.
His underlings came to him, still shooting all kinds of elements from their hands at the dragon.
“Lord Jared! We need to leave here,” one cried.
Jared clenched his fist. “Sniffia are you still there?”
“Yes. Lord Jared!” she groaned,
“Don’t worry, we are coming for you…” Jared said, reassuringly. Suddenly, the dragon landed right in front of him with a force that quenched the vast colorful flames, pushing Jared and his men away. “Uagghhhh!!!” Jared shouted in pain as he landed on the tip of the dragon’s tail. It pierced his iconic breastplate and into his chest. “It’s tail! How long is it?” he gasped.
Sniffia clumsily climbed up, raising her head above the cliff she noticed Jared, helplessly skewered on the dragon’s tail, hiccupping blood and bleeding uncontrollably from his right chest. Her face contorted in rage. She pulled a dagger from its sheath in her left boot and charged towards the dragon.
“You will pay for this… you insolent creature!” the pitch in her voice rising as she charged.
The dragon turned its head towards her, pulling its tail from Jared. He fell, limp, to the ground. The dragon swung his tail, slamming the side of it into her stomach. The force of the blow sent her flying off the cliff. The boy, still concealed by the crevice, looked up. He saw a female form rolling lifelessly down the side of the mountain. She cracked her head on a rock, reducing the speed of her fall. When she was within his reach, the boy braced himself against the rock and grabbed her hand tightly, struggling not to let go.
“Ugh!!” the teenage boy grunted, her weight slowly pulling him down with her. He slid forward, catching himself on a rock just outside the crevice. He felt like he was being pulled in two.
“Wake up… girl!” he yelled.
Sniffia was unconscious, bleeding from her head.
“You gat to wake up! … I can’t hold on much longer... ” He let out a strained grunt as his sweaty fingers slowly slipped, one after the other.
Meanwhile, on the mountain, Jared’s men went to him, panicking. Not sure which was more terrifying, the prospect of Lord Jared’s demise or the dragon in front of them.
“Lord Jared… Are you… ” the woman asked.
“Don’t worry about me… where is Sniffia?” he panted as he lay on the ground, still hemorrhaging from his chest. He slowly staggered to his feet, facing the dragon, breath coming hard, blood dripping from his armor into the blackened grass. He placed his hand against his wounded chest as his underlings gathered behind him.
“Lord Jared… We need to leave here.”
“No. I won’t leave without her.”
“But Sir… ”
The dragon stamped its feet on the ground creating a shock wave. The force pushed them backwards as it exhaled smoke, enveloping them.
“You know, Jared Airbrock, so called Divine Humane, they are right. Leave here before I destroy every bit of your soul,” the dragon warned in a deep tone, arching its long neck as it glared down at Jared and his underlings as though they were nothing more than ants.
Their eyes widened and they shrank back under the unwavering stare of the dragon’s blue blazing eyes.“Wait. It can talk?” someone asked behind Jared.Jared looked at the ground with an implacable expression. He never thought he would come face to face with an ancient creature. Why he was being targeted by it, he couldn’t even guess. But he would not let it conquer him! As it had said, he was Jared Airbrock, the Divine Humane. He raised his head, mutinous eyes staring into those of the monstrous beast.“You know my name. Tell me, dragon, why are you here?” Jared asked, holding his injured chest.The dragon lifted his head to the sky, above the smoke he created.“That, I can’t say, Airbrock. Now leave before-”“Before what?” Jared interrupted.The dragon rolled its eyes down to him, then extended his neck towards the armoured man, until he was face to face with Jared. How insignificantly tiny the defiant Jared seemed in front of the dragon’s
The glow of the sun peaked out from above the horizon as it began its climb over the craggy heights of the smoldering mountain. On the shore of the lagoon, behind a huge rock, Sniffia unconsciously pulled a thick piece of cloth tighter around her body. Her head, bandaged with a yellow cloth, rested on the soft, decaying trunk of a long ago fallen tree.Peirce squatted, naked from the waist up, preparing the purplish-red flowers inside his little steel pot. The floral stew gave off a scent of medicine and flowers as he stirred it with a stick over the fire. He grabbed his now empty orange bag and gently fanned the flames with it, causing sparks to shoot up from the dry sticks.“I should have asked the dragon to take us home,” he mumbled. Peirce looked to the sky, smiling. “That would be fun.” He raised the stick up in the air. “Then people will know me as Peirce… The Mudlark! No… that is…” He scratched his head.
The doors of the Humane castle opened wide, two men carried the wounded Jared on a wooden stretcher while a lady and a young man, both Jared’s underlings, led the way as they trampled through the splendor hallway. Whispers from members and friends of the royal family filled the air as they walked.“Isn’t that Lord Jared, the Divine Humane?”“How could this happen?”“Was there a battle? Are we now at war?”“Could this be the doing of the Nymphs?”“Mummy what’s going on?”“Keep calm, nothing… “As they reached the massive door of the throne room, the voices became indistinct sounds, their horrified faces disappearing into the background. The Royal Guards, resplendent in their full armor and purple capes, immediately opened the door to let them in. As they passed through, a man dressed in robe
Sniffia slowly opened her eyes, squinting at the bright sun above. She noticed she was on Peirce’s back, strolling through the woods far from the other side of the mountain. Judging by the position of the sun, it was mid-day.Feeling her finally stirring, Peirce looked behind and smiled. “Hey! You’re awake. Good afternoon.”Sniffia blinked. She tried to move her body but it was too weak. She let out a low groan.Peirce started to explain, “The flowers were too strong, but don’t worry before the day ends you will be totally fi….” He suddenly stopped. Something snapped from the trees behind them. He scanned the area. Sniffia tried to move her head as well, but found she didn’t even have the strength for that.“Don’t worry, we’re close to my village. We’ll be okay.” Peirce whispered. He took a silent step; the birds around the trees suddenly flew away. It wasn’t they that had startled the birds.
The sun set gracefully on the Kingdom of Humane. A bell chimed in the distance, birds sang wondrously as Humane all around the Kingdom continued about their daily tasks.At the castle, Wren stepped out of her room. Walking to the courtyard, she brushed her palms together, grinning. She was ready to start her training for the day. Her father appeared behind her from the other side of the hallway.“Wren,” Randall called.She tilted her head back. “Yes, Father?” she answered. “What is it?”Her Father joined her in walking. “To the courtyard?” Randall asked. The red-caped royal guards bowed as they passed by. The king waved at them with a regal smile.“Yeah, to train,” she replied.Randall laughed while rubbing his chin. When they’d almost reached the courtyard, he stopped,Wren looked at him and stopped, also. “Father what’s wrong?” she asked, staring straight into her
Everyone in the courtyard stared at their king enveloped in blinding white flames.Wren clenched her fists as her plaited hair swayed. “I’m not going down easily!” She waved her hands towards the sky.Randall narrowed his eyes. “Hmm… What is she up to?” he wondered.The clouds above them suddenly twirled together, forming a huge black hole at the center. Randall looked at the sky in amazement at what his daughter was doing. A huge mass of snow and ice slid swiftly from the hole. Wren twisted her left hand; the snow and ice rotated into a tornado. Wren’s handler hid herself behind a pillar while the royal guards were struggling to stand still as their yellow capes threatened to tear off their shoulders in the powerful wind.Thank goodness the courtyard structure can withstand the force. Should I do it now? she wondered, observing the growing damage her storm was causing to the courtyard's floor.Wren
“Peirce. Peirce. Peirce!” Someone called his name while he was asleep on his bed, smiling as he drooled. Suddenly, he was tapped by the person calling him.“Uhmmmm?” he mumbled. He sat up, still smiling, and slowly opened his eyes while scratching his neck. He saw Sniffia anxiously looking at him from the edge of his bed, then he looked at his locked door. He yawned, and noticed his orange bag on Sniffia thighs. Suddenly, everything became clear with a blink.He scrambled backwards in the bed, breathing heavily in panic. “Please don’t kill me! Remember, I saved your life back at the mountain! Please! I’m begging you!!” he wailed as he jumped from the bed to the floor. “Ouch! My leg!” He rushed to the door and unlocked it. Sniffia gazed at him, wondering what was wrong with him again.Pierce’s grandma opened the door. “What is going on here, Peirce?” she calmly asked.Peirce look
Peirce and Sniffia walked silently towards the village square for the naming. Above, the sky, freckled with stars as the wind gently blew under the cloudless night with the moonlit spilling on them and the empty huts on both sides of the walk way, moving closer, Inhumanes chattering can be heard at the village square and they could see the Inhumanes various glowing light shining through the night, concentrating on the village square tall trees.Already Peirce's Grandma was there as one of the elders of the village.Peirce stared at Sniffia for a while then Sniffia looked at him, he immediately rolled his eyes away and swallowed.“Hey bubbles, speak am listening,” Sniffia countered,"Bubbles?!" Peirce reflected, adjusted his small orange bag on his back then cleared his throat,“hmm,” he scratched his head, “why change of mind, as in three days ago you were sent to kill me and today, you are a… ” he