Post by Danielle on Nov 11, 2015 17:37:05 GMT -6
Please go here to comment on the story: stjunoacademy.boards.net/thread/27/waiting-hope-discussion
This is a fantasy book that I've been writing on Wattpad.
For those of you who don't have a Wattpad account, here you go.
Description
Deep in the red Northern Canyons of the Dalek Kingdom, a threat lies in wait. A threat that could wipe out the entire kingdom. The Tannain are ruthless and would never back down from an enemy. They weren't expecting who the enemy would be, though.
Anari lives in a snow covered cave with her family. She always wonders what is beyond the cave walls. She thought it was all safe and peaceful. She soon finds out for herself. Anari goes through hunger, sorrow, and near death trying to save her kingdom. Will she rise up to the task and take down this enemy? Or will she fall under the burden of the thought of it all? She is the only one who can save this kingdom. She is the only hope.
Introduction ~ Home
It was a stormy night; the dragon struggled to fly against the wind. Splatters of rain blew in her eyes and she blinked a few times to rid them.
In her talons she carried an egg. Its purple-white shell highlighted the darkness.
Below her, she could see the faint outline of trees. Mountain tops rose up ahead of her and she knew she was almost there. She made powerful strokes with her dark violet wings as she forced herself through the storm. The wind picked up and caused her to fly lower.
She shifted her body weight and made a dive down towards the treetops.
The mountains were now standing before her. They were frightful looking mountains with their black form against an already dark sky, but as she flew closer, the white snow and ice made the surroundings a bit brightener. She was there.
The dragon flew in slowly so as not to alert any inhabitants. She stretched out her two back legs and a front arm to reach a ledge that stuck out of the mountainside. She dug her claws in, making sure to keep the egg in her grasp.
Sadly, the purple scaled dragon eyed the egg before lightly placing it on the snowy ledge. Her red eyes burned as she attempted to hold back tears, but she knew it was for the best. She did not want this dragon hatchling to inherit the life she had now, she just hoped someone would find it before it froze.
She hesitated a moment. "You will grow in happiness with this family, young one. Fight for your future if you must, but, by no means follow mine, for you, have your own destiny to fulfil," she whispered in a sweet and loving voice. Looking away from the egg, she spread her wings and flew back into the midst of the storm, far away from her egg.
As the night got colder, she felt an urge to go back for her egg, and give it the motherly warmth that it needed. She decided against it and flew on into the rising sun. She would go home, but she would be without her egg.
Chapter 1 ~ The Ancient Legend
It had only been a few months. Somehow, all had turned dark and small with nothing to stimulate the dragon's senses. What was real? What was fantasy? Was this all a dream? She slept in limbo.
As she slept, she was aroused by what she thought to be a light cracking. It grew became more continuous until there came a deadly silence. She was unsure of what the source of the sound was. She disregarded it and drifted back to sleep. An unknown voice rang in her head. Fight, young one, fight. It is time to go now, for you have a destiny to fulfil. There was another noise that she could not hear over the voice that kept repeating the same command over and over again until it began to draw the young dragon back to reality.
She awoke to realize the noise was the same splitting as before. It was louder as if it were right before her. She was determined to find out the source of this disturbing noise.
The dragon struggled to move, but there was no room; her head and sides crammed into the curved walls of the space she had left. The space that had once been her cozy home suddenly felt confined. The dragon was briefly convinced this was a place of refuge, that she should stay. She decided otherwise and began to rock and wriggle vigorously. Then, out of nowhere there came a bright golden shaft of light streaming through a small crack in the wall of her tiny prison.
She tried peeking through the hole but could not make out much due to the room she had. She struggled again, now straining against the crack with all the strength could conjure. With a dizzying shove, she tumbled and sprawled clumsily onto a cold, hard, gray surface. She blinked blearily in the harsh, intense light, squinting as she noticed two black shadows in frost of her.
The hatchling looked behind her to see her former shell was now strewn on the stone in large fragments, no longer the refuge she was convinced to believe in.
She stood up and walked cautiously towards a shell fragment. It's side looked as smooth as ice while the rim was prickly and raggedy looking. The young fledgling lifted her hand and went to go touch it but, then decided to stay away from it, just to be safe.
Around her, she could see high, iced over walls rising up above her to form a shelter. Hanging from it, were long, slender icicles that dripped with what seemed like an abundance of water as the blinding sun melted their fine form.
A large water drop quickly descended from a short stubby piece of ice, landing on her nose as she stepped forward, distracting her from the gloomy silhouettes. She backed up as another fell, crashing on the floor in a splash followed by silence. Rings formed where it had dropped and spread to the outermost part of the water. The puddle was small enough for her to see the shape of her face along with the details.
She was a beautiful dragon. Her white scales shimmered and flickered in the puddle. Her small golden horns curved towards each other before turning towards the back of her head slightly. Piercing red eyes highlighted the reflection. She batted a hand at it but recoiled as her figure suddenly faded into ripples.
The fledgling turned away from the puddle to get a glimpse of the darkened shadows. Now that she could see clearly, she realized they were no more than dragons, like herself.
As she looked, she was astonished. Both dragons were white scaled and large; larger than her small and fragile body. She noticed that one of them - who she thought must be her mother - had large, wavy clear wings, almost as if they were made of ice and could break at any second. She smiled a beautiful smile and had most aweing golden eyes as she looked downward. Her horns were slender and looked like her own.
The other, yet larger dragon, had solid white wings. They seemed sturdy and powerful. His legs were long enough that she herself would most likely only reach below his knee. His tail was very long and spiked until the very tip. He had wonderful beaming blue eyes and narrow nose. This had to have been her father. She did not know how she knew this, she just knew. It's said that dragons can learn quite quickly. Sometimes, it's just by instinct or common sense.
They did not seem to notice her approach, as they had there gaze directed to two smaller hatchlings. She padded toward one of them and sniffed at his swooshing tail as it went from side to side, obviously happy. His tinted blue wings were folded back to his sides causing them to become rippled. The creature's legs were bent as he knelt down. It had it's nose in a puddle like the one she had discovered earlier. He breathed out and a series of bubbles emerged from the water. The dragon smacked a hand down in the puddle but scrunched up his face as it sent water droplets spraying everywhere. He shook his hand dry and resumed his bubble blowing.
Swiftly, the young she-dragon moved her hand from left to right as she tried to hold the swooshing tail still, but to no use. She slammed down on it hard and held it there with two hands as it tried to escape. The tail's owner spun around and swiped her hand away hissing at her revealing a snaked tongue. She quickly backed away, turned and scurried over to the other lump form hoping they would be more welcoming.
He turned his head at the sound of footfalls. His icy blue eyes burned into hers as their eyes met; ice to flame. "H-Hello," the young drake stuttered shyly to her, glancing down at the gray floor.
She smiled a him "Hi," she said simply.
She could hear her parents murmuring among themselves, all the while moving their eyes toward the three hatchlings. The she-dragon strained to hear what they were saying
"They look healthy and strong already," Mother stated.
Father shook his head and looked around at all three. "I don't know. That one over there looks a bit small," Father said flicking his tail towards the small she dragon. There was a pause before he spoke again.
"She'll grow!" Mother suddenly began defending the young dragon. "You can't talk about your only daughter like that."
"Well, all the same, we have to name them. We'll have to call them something," he said trying to change the subject humorously.
Mother nodded. "I agree."
The young drake and she-dragon looked at each other, not knowing the full meaning of what they were saying, but understood enough of it from the little time that they were hatched. The other dragon had paid no attention to the entire conversation. He was now licking the icy walls, his puddle now starting to freeze over. She hung an shook her head the this ridiculous dragon. Both dragons resumed listening.
"I know just what I want to name them." He pointed his tail over to the young curious drake. "Zeen, the name of my father. As long as he doesn't follow his path, he should stay safe," Father laughed.
Zeen had his tongue stuck to the frozen ice. He yanked it off, taking a thin layer of ice with him. It dissolved in his mouth and he showed no sign of pain as he sat down and looked up at his father.
Mother smiled as she looked at Zeen and suppressed a slight giggle. She shifted her eyes over to her only daughter. "Anari. The name of a close friend of mine and a very strong and brave soul. I wish for you to grow up just as she did and to be full of hope." She closed her eyes as she lost herself in her thoughts while Anari said her name over and over again in her head: Anari...Anari.
"What about m-me?" Anari looked at the young drake beside her as he spoke.
Father grinned. "Keanen. We did not forget about you. I wish for you to grow up with wisdom and understanding."
Mother nodded in acceptance. "That's a wonderful name for such a wonderful dragon. May he honor it until his last breath."
Anari never thought in her brief existence of what may lay beyond the walls of this ghostly white cave. What would be waiting for her on the other side? She slowly walked towards a ledge outside of the cave, the tip of her talons hitting the floor.
The dragoness gasped as her mind processed what was before her. Far past the snow and ice she called her home, lay hundreds upon hundred of emerald green trees. Even past those, as far as her eyes would allow, were high mountains that seemed to be fused with the darkening sky. Around her were shining waters that rippled in the wind, untouched by snow and cold. She could see grassed over moors that waved in the breeze. Griffins flew in the distant making them only but dots.
It was now dark and all Anari could see was the gray outline of the outside walls. Father came over to her and curled his long tail loosely around her frail body and guided her away from the ledge and into the security of the cave.
"It's time that you went to bed," he said as he approached the other two. He led them to a secure den near the very back, leaving the dark clearing behind them. As they entered, a small whiff of wind blew through a small circular hole in the side, as if it were a window of some sort. There was a large pile of moss and leaves laid down on the floor. She guessed that was what they were to sleep on.
She advanced to the moss bed and lied down. It was soft and would be comfortable to sleep on. Zeen and Keanen copied her actions.
Once they were done fighting over who would sleep beside who that night, the young dragons had finally quieted down and looked up at their father who was standing by waiting.
"Well, now that you've finished your quarreling, I can finally tell you an ancient legend that's been past down through my family for a few years. It's the legend of king Balen," he began. "You may not get it right now but, when your matured, you may find it a bit easier to understand," the older dragon warned. He bent his back legs and lied on the floor with his tail curled.
Anari settled in between Keanen and Zeen as Father was about to speak once more.
He cleared his throat and began to tell the story. "Balen was a mighty golden dragon. He had been a Tannain fighter, captured at an older age then most dragons. Balen traveled from a number of places after his escape from their terrible grasp."
"Who were the Tannain?" Zeen interrupted.
Father sighed. "I was getting to that," He said then continued the story. "The Tannain were a ruthless group of dragons that lived in the Outlands. No one dare venture there for the thought of being killed, or worse. Captured.
"One of his last journeys was to the warriors of Sulok. They were fearless dragons. At least that's what Balen thought, for they would not help fight off the Tannain after they saw the mark that Balen bore on his side. The mark of a Tannain fighter. They suspected it to be a trap. The Sulok lead fighter, Orzak, forbade him to come near them again with that cursed mark.
"He fled from there and flew for almost a month before reaching this land. A beautiful sea dragon met him on his arrival. Her name was Hyndra. She had turquoise scales that reflected the shine of the moon. Balen could not resist such beauty. He told her the story of how he ended up their. They became mates after awhile."
One night, as he slept, a vision was sent to him. He was back at Sulok. A loud roar came up from the earth that shook the forests' to it's roots, causing a large split in the ground that swallowed up all living things on the surface. All of the warriors' food resources were gone. There was no other prey for miles and miles around, none but themselves.
Father stopped again as he was interrupted. "What caused the split?" Anari piped.
"I don't know. No one will probably ever know. Now listen," he said to the two inquisitive dragons. Keanen had stayed quiet the entire time so far.
"They had killed the weak to feed the strong. Balen had flown back with Hyndra to try to prevent such a slaughter but was to late. All that was left were bones an two dragons. The event that they described to Balen was the same as his dream. He asked them to fly back with them and start anew. They were not quick to say yes. This had been home for as long as they could remember. They then decided otherwise saying they would rather die trying to live then die knowing they may have flourished.
"They made it back here and named this land Dalek meaning, life. Balen was declared king by the others, for without him, they would have died. He was the first king in thousands of years. The kingdom grew.
"After many years, a battle broke out. Members of the Tannain had survived and wanted to reclaim the land for themselves. King Balen's army beat them but, not without a price. Balen died hours later due to his wounds. That left Hyndra to rule Dalek. No one knows if the Tannain still live and some hope to never find out," he finished releasing a breath.
Zeen and Keanen were deep in sleep by the time he got done.
"That was amazing," Anari said while in the middle of a yawn. "Was it true?" She asked.
Father laughed quietly. "Of course it was." He got up from where he was laying and looked at her calmly with a hint of love in his blue eyes. "Get some sleep. You have a long day tomorrow." Father quietly padded out of the den.
"Wait," Anari whispered sitting up in the moss bedding.
Father turned" Yes?" he said.
"If that was a true story, then, does that mean the Tannain really could still live?" she asked a bit scared.
He smiled. "You have nothing to worry about." He left the den.
Anari lied back down and looked out through the hole in the ceiling gazing at the moon as its brilliant light shone through. Fight, young one, fight. It is time to go now, for you have a destiny to fulfil. The voice she had heard earlier returned. Why now though? She disregarded the thought as she fell into a dream filled sleep.
She dreamt of her, Keanen, and their parents out on the ledge flying when there was screeching and roars of pain. Anari did not know what was going on, for when she looked around, all she saw was fading images.
Anari woke with a start. It was still night but she could no longer see the moon, yet the stars were out. To the left of her, Keanen had shifted in his sleep and his tail slumped over her body. She swooshed it off with her hand and thought of the dream. What was it? What could it mean? Is it even real? she asked herself a series of questions that she herself had no answers to.
The voice replied once more: That, Anari, is your fate.
Chapter 2 ~ To Believe I Could Fly
Anari struggled to move. All she could hear was screeching and cries of pain that only resulted in more bloodshed. All she could see was fire shooting back and forth in red and white crystallized flames and her parents fighting for their lives while she stood there watching. All she could feel was her heart getting ripped out from the horrid scene that took place and guilty that she could not help.
A tear found its way down her scaled face and dripped onto the cracked ledge leaving a dark gray shadow. It was as if she were glued to the stone, unable to speak or move. She could only stand there and watch in terror as her family was slaughtered.
Moonlight reflected off the surrounding snow. The stars flickered in and out innocently. Anari felt as if she were one of them—able to do absolutely nothing. She looked past the flames to see Keanen. A red drake stood over him. Keanen's blue eyes flashed one last glance at her before a film covered them. He was dead. Anari gasped and closed her eyes to hide the sight. She blocked out the sounds around her. She could only imagine what happened to Zeen.
She felt claws around her as she was being carried through the air, the cave getting smaller and smaller at a fast rate. Her eyes shot open. She looked to see her brother, Zeen, playing with her spiky tail. All that had happened was a dream. She yanked her tail away and stood up. She had been getting dreams like that for the past few weeks now, only, they all end with either her dying, or the attacking dragons dying. There was the curious side of her that wanted to know what they meant, while the more terrified side didn't want to take the risk.
Anari could still feel the flames as if she were still dreaming and hear the roars of dying dragons. She shook her head and walked out of the den into the sunlit cave. No matter how many times she saw this cave, it always awed her to think of what nature could create. The walls looked like the northern lights as the sun glinted on it. The hanging icicles slowly melted, one drop at a time.
This morning would be three weeks since she hatched. Her father thought they were now old enough to be taught to fly. Anari agreed with him. They were much larger now than what they had been three weeks back. If the flying lessons were successful, they would soon be taught how to hunt, and then, maybe how to fight. Although, fighting wasn't really necessary here. Not a lot of dragons can handle the cold like Anari and her family could.
Past the dripping icicles and snowy walls laid a world unknown to her. Maybe some dragons will come, She thought, remembering her dreams.
Prepare, for danger is coming. The long unheard voice sounded again. Anari had thought she would never hear it again. She took some comfort in the voice, but, not knowing why only she could hear it disturbed her. Prepare.
Movement interrupted the voice. Keanen crawled out of the back den, followed a second later by Zeen. Zeen had been waiting to learn to fly ever since he found out that the wings attached to his back allowed him to do so.
Her peace and quiet was now gone as her parents came. Here it comes, she thought miserably. Her father approached them silently. "What are you doing out here?" He asked concerned. "See that entrance over there?" He gestured to the opening. "Any dragon can see you through that. They could come and snatch you up. You shouldn't be out here unless one of us are."
Wow, Anari thought, That was a lot shorter than the last one.
Mother walked up to the young dragons. "So, are you ready to fly?" she asked.
Anari was surprised. "Now?"
"Yes. If we don't do it now, I won't be able to teach you later. It's amazing how fast you've grown."
"I'm ready!" Zeen exclaimed. Anari thought this was the happiest day in his short life. She was excited too. She could finally have something to look forward to each morning.
"Me too," Anari replied. Keanen didn't seem too happy about it. Every time someone mentioned flying, he would shrink in fear. Just thinking about it scared him.
Mother led the way to the ledge while everyone else followed. It was beautiful out. The snow had begun to melt and down below, patches of grass sprouted through the rock and stone. Spring was coming. Warm air floated through the air, making a nice breeze for flight.
"Remember, this can be dangerous. You need to listen," Father implied. They nodded.
Mother began to speak. "Flying will come instinctively. What you're going to do is fly off this ledge. I can't really tell you how to fly. Just that your tail is what helps keeping your balance. If you need help, I'll come out there."
Anari nodded and timidly stepped up to the ledge. She looked down. It was a very long fall. Without waiting for others, she flapped her wings and jumped off the ledge. She dived down and swooped back up. The wind blew across her face. Anari smiled in delight at the thought that she had gotten it on her first try. Zeen had followed behind her anxiously. Keanen was little more timid.
A gust of wind blew under her wings and lifted her higher up into the sky. White, fluffy clouds dotted the blue surface. They were so large that it looked as if she could fly right up into one. She remembered to use her tail to keep balance.
Far below her, a movement of brown caught her attention. It was a creature unknown to her. It moved and looked around as if expecting something to jump out of the surrounding undergrowth. Or maybe, it was looking for something. It began to pump its glossy white wings as it took of in the opposite direction. Anari looked shocked as she saw huge talons on the beast. Deadly talons. She gulped and decided to mind her own business for once.
The young dragon tilted her tail and tipped her right wing. She began to turn and doubled back the way she had come. Below, green treetops looked a lot smaller and the grass looked like a layer of variegated greens. She never thought that flying would seem so joyous and relaxing. She soon forgot about the creature.
Keanen flew like a natural flyer as Anari watched him down below her. He made sharp turns seem effortless and easy. He kept his eyes in front of him and was relaxed. Zeen on the other hand, obviously wasn't as fond of flying as he thought he would be. He had trouble making turns and cringed whenever he tilted his wings. He'll learn, Anari thought.
As she approached the ledge, she outstretched her back legs and landed silently onto the stone. Her breath came in gasps after her delightful flight. She couldn't wait for her brothers to come back and hear how their flights were.
Anari dove into the carcass of a moose happily as she was about to listen to Zeen and Keanen's flight experiences.
"I had a wonderful time!" announced Keanen quickly. "It felt as if I was a cloud just floating." He took a bite out of the meat, chewed and swallowed. "I can't wait to do it again. Can we do it tomorrow?"
"Maybe," said Mother.
"Mine was horrible," Zeen muttered. "I couldn't get my tail in the right position and it felt like my heart sank every time I went to turn. I don't know why."
Anari felt pity for him. He was the most excited out of the three when he learned they would be flying.
"It takes time for some dragons to get used to it," Mother reassured him. "It took me nearly four months before I could fly confidently."
"I don't want it to take time! I want to fly!" Zeen left the carcass and stomped off angrily into the back den.
Mother shook her head and looked at Anari. "How was your flight?" she asked sweetly.
"It was great," is all she said. She didn't want Zeen to hear how great of a time everyone else had; it would just upset him even more. Anari sat up and walked into the den with Zeen. Mother and Keanen stayed in the cave, looking on sadly.
She stepped in and saw Zeen huddled up on the moss bedding. Anari could hear some whimpers coming from him and padded silently over to him. She touched his side with her tail. He flinched, and then relaxed again.
Anari crouched beside him. He looked at her, the anger gone from his eyes. Together they fell asleep the stars twinkled and moon rose into the sky. All was calm. Just the way Anari liked it. No quarrels or deaths. Hopefully her dreams would be like that thought.
Chapter 3 ~ Death Talons
It had now been one entire month. The air had become more fresh and warm. It brought the smell of spring into the mountain cave. The sun had shone more brightly then anything Anari had ever seen. She could hear the many songs of birds as they echoed off the mountainside. Grass had begun to peek above the white snow and out of the rocks that formed the mountain.
She sat on the ledge like she had done every morning for the past month. She enjoyed spending time alone. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to fight about. As long as she stayed isolated, she felt safe. That is, until Zeen and Keanen disturb the peace and quiet. As they are doing now.
Zeen raced out of the back den with Keanen on his heels. This was like a routine to them. Wake up, find something to fight about, argue for a few minutes, and then do whatever they have to in order to settle the matter. Sure enough, that is exactly what they did. Keanen pounced on Zeen causing him to stumble and roll to the ground. You would think, in age, they would grow up. Nope. They still acted like hatchlings fighting over who slept where.
They neared the edge and Anari quickly stepped out of the way. They rolled off the side of the cliff in a ball of scales. Anari knew they were fine. They spread their wings as they fell and let the wind lift them up. They attempted to ram into each other as they flew. Anari smiled and decided to join in on their supposedly called fun. In one stroke of her wings, she lifted and dived down. She leveled out as she neared the altitude of where her brothers were.
She felt the same delight in flying as she had the very first day. The only difference, was they could do it alone and without their parents' guidance. All she had to do was flap and steer. She let the wind do the rest.http://stjunoacademy.boards.net/thread/27/waiting-hope-discussion
The two squabbling brothers were straight ahead of her. They were approaching the Eternal Forest. It was said, that this forest seems to go on and on forever. It is difficult to find your way out with it looking all the same. Luckily, if she was ever trapped in there, she could just fly above the trees.
They dove down into the trees before Anari could reach them. She followed them into the dense forest. She landed and continued on foot as did Zeen and Keanen. Zeen turned around as he heard Anari.
"What are you doing?" he asked angrily.
"Making sure you don't get into trouble," she shot back. "What's the big secret?"
"We have no secret!" joined Keanen. "And we can take care of ourselves!" The three siblings hadn't been getting along well with Anari trying to watch them. She wasn't trying to do anything wrong, she just wanted to keep them safe. Is that exactly a bad thing? Keanen turned back around and walked deeper into the forest. "Go home!" he called over his shoulder.
Anari thought about it for a brief second. I'm not going to let him tell me what to do, she declared to herself. I don't care if they 'think' they can take care of themselves. It was settled. She stepped forward once they were out of sight. She will find out what they were hiding.
After almost five minutes of walking, she heard something. It was water. Rushing water. There was a river close by. She hastened her steps. Usually where there was water, there were other animals. Depending on the animal, Zeen and Keanen could be in danger.
Without thinking, her steps hastened and she found herself basically running through the low hanging branches. Nothing else mattered to her more right now then making sure her brothers were safe.
She soon found herself in a more opened area. Sure enough, there was a river. There was a series of mini waterfalls that flowed calmly down. A shriek rose into the damp air. "Keanen..." she whispered to herself. Her mind had gone blank.
Don't go! a voice shouted worriedly at her. It's dangerous!
No kidding! Anari snapped. I thought it was completely safe when I heard Keanen screaming! I don't have time for this. Let me help him.
You'll die! I can't let you die.
Either you tell me who and what you are, or I go get him and die, she lied.
...Go, The voice answered as it faded.
She was never going to leave Keanen to die. But what is so important that she can't tell me who she is. They obviously don't care about me enough if they are willing to let me die. Speaking of dying! I need to get Keanen! She forced herself out of her dream state and pushed her way across the river. It was not very deep which made it to where she could wade through it.
Once she had gotten on the other side, she barged through the trees again. She came into a wide field. In the middle, Keanen was on the ground. A large brown animal was attacking him and blood poured out of both of them.
"No!" Anari cried. "Get off of him!" She rushed forward and barreled into the beast. It was the same one he had seen while flying. Anari looked and saw that it had a head like that of an eagle and a body like a lion. She flinched as its eyes burned into hers. She saw a huge paw about to slam down on her and rolled out of the way.
"You shouldn't of shown up, Anari!" the creature growled.
How did it know her name?
She had no time to worry about that right now as another massive paw slammed down on the ground next to her. She leaned forward and grabbed its neck. Blood poured out and she let go as it hollered in pain. She got up and attacked with her talons.
Before she could make a move, Zeen rammed into the beast and toppled him over.
"You foolish dragons! You can't kill a griffin! Let alone a Razorclaw like me!" it spat.
"Who are you?" Anari asked as she tried to distract him from killing Zeen.
"Ha! You don't know who I am? I am Thilien, the last Razorclaw! I'll be back someday. I want you to feel the pain of your brother's death as you made me feel for mine." He turned and began to fly off.
"I have never harmed your family!" she called out.
"Oh, but you have, Anari. You have."
He flew away and left the three dragons in the field. She rushed over to Zeen as large amounts of blood spilled out of him from his neck and body.
"Zeen...don't die." A tear rolled down her scaly cheek. "You have to much to look forward to. Fight! I'll carry you back if I have to!" Her cry turned into a wail as Zeen slowly looked up at her.
"No. You would never make it back with me. Just let me go. I brought myself into this," said Zeen quietly.
"How could you say something like that?" Anari asked and looked at him like he was insane.
"Though I may have lived for a short time, I learned tat e all have to make sacrifices. Me living would just in the way of your destiny."
Had he known about the voice in her head and the dreams she had been getting?
His eyes clouded over and closed. He took one last breath. Anari wanted it to last for lifetimes, but it only lasted for a brief second. He was gone.
"No! How could you leave Zeen?" she asked herself as if he could of avoided it. Deep down, she knew he couldn't of. His wounds were too severe. She remembered Keanen lying on the ground and rushed over to him.
"Keanen?" she asked hurriedly. "Are you okay?
He groaned and moved a bit. "I'll be fine. Where's Zeen?"
Silence.
"Anari?" Keanen said her name. "Where is Zeen?"
"Dead..." she announced. "Dead."
"What? How?" he asked in a surprised tone. He tried to move but fell back down. "Ouch! My leg is broken." He got up on his other three legs with Anari's help.
"The Razorclaw. He killed him." She was still too shocked to show much emotion.
Keanen's eyes faded. "I did this..." he said as he looked over at Zeen's limp body. "This is my fault!"
Anari walked over to comfort him, but he rejected her.
We were walking through the forest and... Wait..." Keanen looked at Anari, eyes blazing. "This was your fault! If you hadn't of shown up, Zeen wouldn't of gone back and gotten lost. He would still be by my side if it wasn't for you!" He lunged viciously at her with jaws opened. "You killed him!" He knocked her down before she had time to react. All she could see was a flurry of teeth and talons.
"I didn't kill him!" Anari tried to talk to him. "I was only concerned for you!"
"No! I don't want your lies!" He stood and gazed at her. Saliva dripped from his jaws.
"Calm down, Keanen. Your just-"
"Die!" His cry interrupted her and he lunged once more. His spread his wings and aimed to land on her. He faltered and Anari pinned him down.
"This is the Razorclaw's fault," she said trying to calm him down.
"Face the truth and admit it was your fault," Keanen growled under his breath. "Stop using our enemies to defend yourself. I knew there was something different about you. You just want to kill us. Me..." he corrected himself.
"Why would you think that? What have I done?"
Keanen didn't answer.
She let him go. "Let's go home. We can bring Zeen back with us."
"Don't bother acting like he is still alive," Keanen spat.
"But he is. Deep, deep down, he is."
They grabbed Zeen as best as they could with Keanen's broken leg and the awkward position of the body. They managed and brought Zeen home, one last time.