Chapter Text
Long ago, the dragons once called the lands and skies their home. They roamed from coast to coast, from the warm sands of the Rygnirath Desert, ideal for caring for eggs, to the pristine islands that the Nalquadi called home. The vast continent was truly a home that the dragons enjoyed and felt safe upon.
But one day, it all changed.
The elves, shadow and light alike, came from the west, aiming to settle new land. They forced the dragons back, conquering the lands that the majestic beasts called home. Those who fought back would be slain, like beasts sent for slaughter. It was a tragic time as their numbers were brought down to less than half of their prior population. The weak and elderly destroyed, eggs crushed, the survivors managed to escape.
Those who survived and escaped were pushed further and further away. They were finally forced into exile in the wasteland to the north, past the Talwar Mountains.
The wasteland, though bordered by the ocean, was not land anyone could survive on. Even the hardiest of plants that grew in the Rygnirath Desert and Daibazaal could not take root. Rivers would not run, oases could not form, and the ocean near there did not provide much.
The divine siblings who looked upon the lands saw what happened to the descendants of the first children. Facing genocide and exile. Though powerful, the goddesses and god could not truly punish those who had harmed the dragons. Even if they could, they feared that it would be blamed on the dragons and more would be hunted and killed off. So, they each provided a bit of power and life and formed precious stones that would bring forth life in the wasteland, giving the dragons their own utopia.
“So the stones were gifts of the gods?” a small hatchling asked, her arm up to get the older dragon’s attention. “But why did the others help? Isn’t Marmora the goddess of this region?”
Keith was a dragon shifter, a race among the dragons that could shift between dragon form and a human-like form. He was still young himself, though long past being called a hatchling; he couldn’t yet transform fully into a dragon, but that would come within the next decade or two; it took training and strength to transform and typically shifters could not until well into their late twenties or thirties. He smiled at the hatchlings he was telling stories to.
“True, Marmora watches over our lands, but she and her siblings are believed to watch all the lands, keeping balance.” he explained. “They watch their mortal children live their lives, keeping the land safe so that they may thrive.”
“We were given the stones to make the land livable, right? Where are they?”
Keith thought it over and smiled. “Hidden.” he responded simply. “Though most cannot attack us, there are still risks of pirates coming to search for treasure, believing dragons to be saturated in it. Only certain clans are given knowledge of the artifacts gifted to our ancestors and passed down to us.”
“They’re kept separate and hidden, for if even one goes missing, our lands will be in trouble.”
“Mom!” Keith perked up when he saw a woman land beside him, her wings broad and beautiful, settling her on the ground gracefully. The hatchlings were in a commotion as they got excited and crowded the older dragon. “What brings you by? I was just telling the kids some stories.”
“I figured it was getting late and it was time for the little ones to head home.” Keith’s mother, Krolia, responded. There was a collective noise of dismay, the children not yet ready to go home. “Now, now, don’t be that way.” She shooed them off. “Now then, Keith, you and I should get going, too; your father is almost finished with supper.”
“Right.” Keith nodded and walked with his mother, home not being too far, so they technically didn’t need to fly. “Hey, Mom?”
“Hmm?”
“The artifacts that give our lands life… they can’t be stolen, right?” Keith couldn’t explain it, but he wanted to be certain they were safe.
“Of course not; they’re not only hidden, but heavily guarded.” Krolia assured. “They’re safe, as are our people and lands.” She watched her son carefully. “Why do you ask?”
“I...” Keith sighed. “I don’t know. I just have this weird feeling that something is going to happen.”
“I’ll bring it up to Kolivan and he can decide.” Krolia nodded. “But for now, don’t worry. They’ve always been safe from looters and treasure hunters.”
Despite Krolia’s reassurances, there was much to worry about. Within the next month, someone had managed to enter the dragons’ territory and located one of the artifacts. Using way-magic, a type of spell used with artifacts to teleport, the thief had gotten away before anyone could catch hold of them. It would not be long before the dragons’ utopia would start to wither.
“And where do you think you’re going?” Krolia snarled at her son as she got ready to set out.
“With you, of course.” Keith declared. “I’m going to go out and help in finding the stone.”
“Keith, you’re hardly out of being a hatchling and you can’t fly yet, not like this and certainly not as a full dragon.” Krolia reminded.
“I can use an artifact to help me transform then; we’d be using those anyway for training.”
“Absolutely not. You’re still too young.”
“But I can help. I can fight if needed.”
“You can sit your tail right down is what you can do.” Krolia’s eyes went soft. “Keith, you’re my child. My hatchling. I’m not going to put you in harm’s way.”
“But Mom...”
“Keith, kiddo,” Keith’s father, a human by the name of Chief, or rather it was a nickname, spoke up, “ya should listen to yer ma. She means well and wants ya safe; we both do.” He went over and ruffled his son’s hair, minding his horns. “We’ll be back before long. ‘sides, the hatchlin’s may need’ja; they listen and respect ya, they’ll be scared if the land withers and they’re left without reassurances.”
Keith huffed. Babysitting duty. Sure, he did well with children, but still, to be left behind and babysit, it didn’t sit well with him. He felt if he could go out there, he could find the stone. But he was being left behind.
Keith watched as the dragons took off, some with humans on their backs; among the dragons, there were some humans who lived in peace with them, even falling in love just as his father had. He wanted to help them in their quest, but he couldn’t fly yet, not in his human-like form and definitely not in a dragon form. At least not on his own.
Keith waited for a couple of days so as to not be really noticed, then he stole a magic artifact meant to help him force a transformation. It was a common object to use in dragons first learning to shift and fly; he would be practicing in some years already, but he decided to start early for the sake of the stone.
Keith used the cover of the night to take off, doing his best to go unseen. He couldn’t just idly sit around and wait for the others; he had to do something. He hoped his gut was right, though; he hoped he could find the stone stolen from them.
“How far did the charm get us?” a man asked, pushing up the goggles he wore and putting them back up on his hat. He looked to his accomplice, a woman with blonde hair.
“Far enough, I hope.” the woman stated. She checked her map and used a small crystal infused with magic to find their location. “We’re close to the eastern side of Olkarion. Nothing but small villages and towns out here.” She looked to the other she traveled with. “We’re relatively close to the rendezvous point with Sendak.”
“Sendak...” The man sighed. “I dunno about making deals with him, Nyma. He’s a dangerous shifter.”
“What, you want to return the stone we stole from the dragons, beg for forgiveness, and then deal with the bounties on us all over again, Rolo?” Nyma questioned, arms crossed.
“On second thought, Sendak’s not too bad.” Rolo chuckled nervously. He looked to his shoulder when a gray dragon with teal markings landed there, a glowing green stone secure in his jaws. “Good job, Beezer. I’ll be sure to get you a real nice treat when we get the chance.” He accepted the stone. “Now isn’t this a sight to see. Legends say it’s a gift from the goddess Gaia. Each of the other stones are different colours, too. Doom’s is purple, Altea’s is blue, Willow’s is golden, and Marmora’s is red.”
“Why did Sendak specify Gaia’s stone?” Nyma inquired.
“Maybe you should ask when we see him.”
“No way, he’s bound to be snarky and rude and threaten me.” Nyma grumbled. “I’d rather not end up in the jaws of a cat-shifter just for asking questions.”
“Hmm.” Rolo grunted. “Anyway, which way to the rendezvous point?”
Nyma checked the map and crystal before nodding. “Just west of here. A half day’s walk at best.”
“Then let’s get going.” Rolo nodded. He let Nyma take the lead, his accomplice best at navigating the lands. He went to put the stone a pouch at his hip, aiming to have it tucked away and secure. As he walked off, he didn’t realize that there was a hole in his pouch and the stone had slipped through. “You know, when the bounty’s off, I think I’m going to save up.”
“What for?” Nyma inquired.
“An airship.” Rolo reached up and scratched under Beezer’s chin, earning a purr-like growl from the dragon. “I used to be a pilot back in the day and I’d like to return to that. Sans the pirating.”
“Going on the straight and narrow?” Nyma chuckled. “It would be nice to fly. I’ve never gone up on an airship; always wanted to when I was a kid.”
“It’s a beautiful thing.” Rolo hummed. “We’ll go up together. But I’ll tell you what, navigating land may be your thing, but the skies are my domain. Even a mighty ocean storm can’t take me down.”
Rolo and Nyma went with their path, eventually reaching a small village where they were to meet a man by the name of Sendak. He wasn’t hard to miss; he was fairly large, well built with a broad frame. On top of that, he had purple hair and feline-like ears sticking out. His skin had a slight, purplish tinge, showing some of his shadow elf heritage. He stood out a bit, what with Daibazaal, home of the shadow elves, being on the other side of the continent, but people like him were not unheard of in the country of Olkarion. In Olkarion, one could find people of all types going about, elves, Nalquadi, humans, Rygnirathites, varying shifters, the only rare sight being a dragon-shifter.
Sendak was drinking a large mug of ale with some others he was with, most being shadow elves, recognizable by their skintones of grays, blues, and purples. One elf looked over; Haxus, Sendak’s right hand man.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.” Haxus stated as he stood up. Sendak barely looked over. “Did you bring what was requested?”
“Of course.” Rolo went to check the pouch, freezing when he couldn’t feel it. He removed the small pack and checked inside. Sure enough, there was nothing there except a hole. “Shit!”
“Rolo?” Nyma whispered harshly, concern seeping into her.
“It must have fallen out...” Haxus’s eyes narrowed as he watched the man. “I swear it, I’m not lying. We had it but...”
“They aren’t lying.” Sendak grumbled. “They’re just stupid and careless.” He stood up, showing his massive build. He went around the table and stood before Rolo and Nyma.
“We’ll go back and find it.” Rolo promised. He let out a choked cry when he suddenly found Sendak’s hand around his throat as the human was lifted off the ground. Beezer screeched in fear and flew to Nyma, hiding on her back.
“You? Find it? Don’t make me laugh. You screwed up badly already, what makes you think I’d trust you to succeed again?” Sendak inquired. “You.” He glared at Nyma. “Where did you last have it?” Nyma was terrified and couldn’t respond, so Sendak squeezed Rolo’s neck a bit more. “Where. Or would you rather see your friend die here and now?”
“It… it was here.” Nyma quickly pulled out her map and checked it, pointing to where they arrived with the way-magic and last saw the stone, neither checking for it on their journey to meet with Sendak.”
“Good.” Sendak dropped Rolo, letting him crumple to the ground as he struggled to catch his breath. The shifter stepped over him to the bar counter where the keeper was too concerned for his own safety to intervene or even speak up. He left some coins on the counter for him. “That should pay for our drinks.” Sendak then went to the door, the elves joining him, save for Haxus who lingered behind for a moment.
Haxus dropped a small bag of silver coins in front of the thieves. “Consider this as payment for getting it so close and telling us where it is.”
“What about… our bounties?” Nyma asked. “We had a deal.”
“The deal was for you to deliver the treasure we sought out.” Haxus reminded. “You failed to do that. Consider your lives and the silver as payment; it is more than you deserve.” He walked off, going to follow after Sendak.
“You’re too kind on others.” Sendak grumbled. “Their lives spared should have been enough.” He walked out of the tavern.
“Yes, but paying them in part for their services and sparing their lives will make them rethink going against us in any form after we were so generous, sir.” Haxus hummed, making a good point.
“Humph.” Sendak snarled a bit. “Where are we going? You saw the map.”
“Yes.” Haxus brought out his own map. “Right around here, near a town called Balto.” He looked up to Sendak. “Be cautious, sir, though a simple town in a non-alliance country, the people of the country Olkarion are forces to recon with. They will stand strong and fight back if they feel threatened.”
“We’re just after a stone is all; we won’t have any issue with the people, I’m sure.” Sendak responded. He went to the stables where the horses were being kept during the stay. Once the payment was given for their lodging, they took off, heading for the small town of Balto.
