darkSpyro

This is a new story I made. Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke inspired me to write this. Hope you like it.



Summary: Scorchtail had read a tale of the evil, dragon-cannibal Blackfang the Evil One who may or may not even exist. One day, a murder occurs, and Scorchtail is determined to find a new place to live for the sake of dragon kind. So he learns from a pack of mysterious birds of the mythical Realm of Forever, the ancestry home of the dragons. He decides to set out to find it and the mysterious murderer. Loyalty is tested. Friendships are made. The dragons explore the world, and not far behind them is the malevolent Blackfang searching to thwart their plan and destroy them all. Will they succeed? The hunt is on in this exciting first book of the Dragon's Legacy Saga!

Main characters:








Prologue: The Evil One (Edited)

All was peaceful in the world of dragons. Different dragons were doing different things: Some were sleeping, some were playing games, some were soaring through the sky, but one was not doing anything peaceful...

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"Winley, where is my cow?!" roared the dragon. His massive voice boomed throughout the ruined castle.

A small dwarf with spikey, red hair rushed into the great throne room with a big, silver platter. He opened it to reveal one single cow, "Here you are, Blackfang."

Blackfang glanced down at it, "That's it?!" Blackfang was a giant, red dragon - one dragon times one hundred to be more procise - who only liked to eat one thing: dragons. Even though he was a dragon, he loved the horror that dragons showed to him, and he loved their rich meat. He also had a very evil-temper.

"Yes, oh evil one," shivered Winley, who thought about Blackfang's growing appetite; what if he decided to eat him instead like he did to his other servants?

"This is pathetic! I want a dragon!! Now get one or I'll be having you instead," threatened Blackfang as he showed his massive black fangs; he wasn't called Blackfang for nothing.

Winley stared at Blackfang's massive jaws and shuddered. Then he bravely said to his master, "But Blackfang, we're stuck here! How can I-"

"-Nonsense! I'm stuck, not you. You must ride along my memories of that rechid place to get out of this treacherous valley," grunted Blackfang. He lowered his ear down to Winley, "Climb in."

"But Blackfang, I don't want to! Your ear-wax is absolutely disgusting!" cried Winley in protest.

"Shut up and get in here!! Or you'll go into my stomach instead!" growled Blackfang.

Winley gulped and reluctently climbed into his master's slimey ear. He soon disappeared into his master's gigantic head.

"Are you at my brain yet?" thundered Blackfang's voice to his puney servant.

"Yes, master," replied Winley.

"Good, now go into my brain cloud," ordered Blackfang.

Winley plugged his nose and walked into the green gas ahead of him. Suddenly he appeared in a maelstrom of Blackfang's thoughts.

That fool better find me a dragon or I'll soon make a meal out of him! Blackfang thought.

Winley gasped not just from hearing this, but from the sight of dragons ahead.

This looks interesting.

Thanks! I edited the prologue by a lot to make it more interesting.

Part 1: The Journey

Chapter 1: Scorchtail

Several dragons were roaming throughout the dragon realms in peace. However, one particular dragon was worried about the future of dragons.

"But Greyclaw, he's bound to escape eventually!" exclaimed Scorchtail to the dragons' leader, Greyclaw. Scorchtail was a very mature dragon for his teen age. Despite his fire name, Scorchtail couldn't even breathe fire, in fact, he wasn't even red, he was blue!

"Nonsense, Blackfang isn't coming back, he probably isn't even real!" snapped Greyclaw.

"How would you know? You weren't even a toddler when he was banished!" growled Scorchtail in protest.

"Speak for yourself," replied Greyclaw, "Even if the stories say that Blackfang was trapped in the Valley of No Return, he wouldn't be able to escape let alone his smelly dwarves!" Greyclaw stomped his foot angrily, "End of subject!"

Scorchtail mumbled under his breath and walked out of Greyclaw's cave. He gazed out at the small flock of dragons in the valley belwo; who would become of them if Blackfang did return?

"He's real, I know he is," mumbled Scorchtail. He flew down towards the dragons and landed next to the great river.

"Hey, Scorchtail, what's wrong?" asked Bluetongue, a middle-aged dragon child with blue scales and silver eyes. He looked like Scorchtail because he was his younger brother.

"Oh nothing, I was just talking to Greyclaw about this dragon I read about in a silly dragon tale," replied Scorchtail.

"Can you take me to the meadow to find some dragon scales for my collection like you promised?" asked Bluetongue.

Scorchtail stared down at his brother for awhile and finally said, "First one to find a gold one wins!"

And within that second, the two brothers raced off towards a big, green meadow. Little did they know that a very familiar dwarf with slime all over was waiting for them.

Chapter 2: Winley's Lie

Scorchtail was a few yards away from Bluetonge looking for scales for Color Hunt.

Color Hunt was a game that Scorchtail had invented for Bluetongue. In Color Hunt, you would find scales and get points judging by its color; blue scales were worth 5, red scales were 6, green scales were 7, yellow were 8, orange were 9, purple were 10, and gold gave you and automatic win. So far, Scorchtail had 16 points, two blue scales and one red scale, and Bluetongue had found one blue scale and one green scale, or 12 points.

Bluetongue was looking in a bush and had just found a green scale. He crawled deeper into the bush to look for more.
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Winley had yellow slime all over himself from his master's unpleasant ear, and he stunk from his gaseous cloud. He found himself caught in a bush.

Sounds were heard from nearby. Suddenly, the bush began to shake, and a paw brushed up against Winley.

"Woah!" cried the owner of the paw as he pulled Winley out of the bush.

"Ah!" screamed Winley as he saw the face of the blue dragon. He hadn't seen any other dragon besides Blackfang in a hundred years, this dragon was big close up.

"Relax, my name is Bluetongue, what's yours?" asked Bluetongue.

Winley sighed, apparently this dragon didn't know the history of dwarves, "My name's Winley."

"Winley, huh? What're you doing way out here?" asked Bluetongue.

Winley panicked, what should he say? He blurted out, "I was kidnapped by a wolf from far away. It nearly ate me when a skunk sprayed us, then it ran aff and left me for dead; I don't know how to get home."

"Oh, I bet my brother Scorchtail can help," replied Bluetongue, "He's over here."

The two walked around the corner until Scorchtail was dead ahead.

Winley gasped at the sight of the big, blue dragon ahead. He backed away, "Oh my, he's big!"

"Oh, don't be afraid, he only eats plants like me. He even knows a lot about dwarves," replied Bluetongue.

Winley gulped, did he know that all dwarves serve Blackfang? Winley took his chances and slowly walked towards Scorchtail.

"Hey, Scorchtail, look who I found," said Bluetongue.

Scorchtail glanced down at the puney Winley. His eyes widened in shock. He immediatly pushed Bluetongue aside and slammed his paw in front of the frightened Winley in anger.

"This is a dwarf!" growled Scorchtail in anger.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Bluetongue.

Scorchtail looked back at Winley, "He can't be trusted!"

"And why not?" asked Bluetongue.

"Because - oh never mind that. Get away, dwarf," ordered Scorchtail.

But Winley had already made off for the woods...

Chapter 3: Contacting Blackfang

Winley rushed off into the mystical dragon woods ahead of him. He looked back to see if the monstrous beast and his mini-self were following him but they weren't. Winley sighed, and he looked for any sign of water, but he found none.

The reason Winley was looking for water was not for a drink, but to contact his master. No water meant that he would have to use a different liquid resource, but what could he use?

While Winley was searching, a flock of birds came by with bloody beaks and ripped wing feathers.

"Of course! I can just use blood!" exclaimed Winley. He pulled out a small dagger,bit his tongue, and quickly sliced his arm. He yelped in pain as he let the blood drip to the ground. He then spit into the blood.

An image slowly began to reveal. It finally showed Blackfang sitting outside his castle.

"Master, I've got to tell you something!" cried Winley.

"What is it? Have you found a dragon yet?" asked Blackfang.

"Yes, master, I even found two dragons," whispered Winley.

"What? Two? Describe these two," ordered Blackfang.

"Uh... well... they both look the same, they're brothers, and they're both blue. One is small, but the other is big," described Winley.

"Big?! How big, certainly not my size is it?" asked Blackfang, who was a bit worried.

"Oh no, master, I mean he's big to me, " replied Winley, "He's like an ant to you."

Blackfang sighed, "Well next time you need to be more descriptive! How intelligent are they?"

"Well, the small one trusts me - apparently he doesn't know a thing about you or the others -, but the big one is the exact opposite; he's suspicious of us," replied Winley.

Blackfang growled, a bit concerned, " Is this going to be a problem?!" He showed his fangs.

Winley gupled, "Uh, no master."

"Good. I sure hope you said something believeable to them, " said Blackfang.

"Oh yes, master, I told the small one that a wolf attacked me, brought me here, and left me after a skunk sprayed us," replied Winley, "Now the small one wants to help me get back home."

"Excellent! Now you can lead them to me! You must bring them here," ordered Blackfang, "Wait, I smell blood!"

"Oh, that would be me, master; this image is made of it," replied Winley.

"Well you can count yourself lucky that you're not here. The smell of it would lead you on a one way trip to my digestiive system," replied Blackfang as he licked his lips.

Winley shivered, "But how can I get back to them if they think I've disappeared?"

"Oh, you'll think of something! You must report to me every single day with no delay, do you here me?! Now go!" ordered Blackfang with a grunt.

The image faded, and Winley stood up. He cleaned his wound and slowly walked back to the dragons. Then he followed them.

Chapter 4: Learning the Legend

Scorchtail growled, "Dwarves are not to be trusted; that dwarf should be glad I let him live!"

Bluetongue rolled his eyes, "I'm going home." He walked off into the valley; a dwarf slowly followed behind him.

Scorchtail growled and walked off towards a waterfall to sit down. Was this a sign that Blackfang was coming back?

Suddenly, a mysterious flue began to play, then, as fast as lightning, small darts shot out of the bushes and into Scorchtail's back. Scorchtail fell over, unconscious, and was taken away by birds.
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Scorchtail awoke in a great chamber lit by a huge torch. Several books and scrolls filled the chamber with knowledge. A silver banister showed a beautiful land full of mythical birds.

"Hello?" called Scorchtail.

Sparks flew around the room and formed a huge ball of energy in front of Scorchtail. Several birds - ravens, owls, hawks, falcons, and phoenixes - entered the chamber and surrounded Scorchtail, and they gazed at the energy ball as if they expected something to happen.

Suddenly, a great, white owl with golden eyes, silver wings, a red scar on its face, metal armor on its claws, and a metal, black mask appeared out of it. He looked at Scorchtail, "My name is Maelfront; you're the only dragon who's ever cared for the safety of others."

"Wh-what do you mean?" asked Scorchtail.

"Out of all the dragons who come to my den, you're the only one who didn't care about himself. I respect that, so I will help you," replied Maelfront.

"Help me with what?" asked Scorchtail.

Maelfront gestured to a raven; it brought over a golden scroll and gave it to him. Maelfront unraveled the scroll, "Help you find the Realm of Forever, of course!"

"The Realm... of Forever?" asked Scorchtail.

"Yes, that banister is the realm," Maelfront pointed to the silver banister behind him, "Us birds used to live there in peace with dragons until our great feast. We went out of the realm only to be attacked by Blackfang and be driven down here."

"Wait, he's real?!" shrieked Scorchtail, "I told Greyclaw!"

"He's real alright," said Maelfront, "And he's coming back for revenge. The Realm of Forever is a sacred and special place. It can only be found by the one who is pure of heart, so its location is a mystery."

Maelfront pointed at the scroll with his metal claw, "The realm is the only place to escape from Blackfang. Now I suggest you high-tail it out of this valley with everyone."

"What if the others don't believe me?" asked Scorchtail.

"Then you will go alone. I'd like you to keep this scroll, for it will help you on your quest. I know a mole named Chetin who can give you directions; he is just outside the valley in a burrowed cavern. You should see him," Maelfront handed the scroll to Scorchtail, "A word of advice for you: My scouts saw a dwarf in the woods earlier, talking to a puddle of blood; watch yourself. Now quick, go!" Maelfront pointed to a door leading outside.

"Thanks, Maelfront," replied Scorchtail as he walked out the door with the scroll.

Scorchtail rolled up the scroll and walked out of the forest. He walked towards Greyclaw's cave to speak to him about the Realm of Forever. But would everyone believe him?

Chapter 5: The Quest Begins

Scorchtail entered the cave of Greyclaw only to find him lying on the ground, bloody and scarred. He gasped in fright and kneeled down, "Greyclaw, what happened to you?!"

Greyclaw moaned, "Scorchtail, is that you? You were right!"

"Right about what?" asked Scorchtail; a lump filled in his throat.

"Everything! Take everyone away, every living creature, go! Don't let him get you like he did to me!" cried Greyclaw.

Scorchtail gulped, "Who?! Who did this to you?! I'll go get help."

"No! I am old, and my time to go has come," Greyclaw struggled to say.

"But Greyclaw... who did this to you?! I must know!" Tears were pouring down Scorchtail's face. He had never cried this hard before.

"It was - " Greyclaw coughed and wheezed as he tried to say his last words, "It was - it was - " Just then, his heat stopped. His eyes shut as he left this world to go to the heavens beyond.

Scorchtail then wept hard, he wept until he could weep no more, then he stood up and walked out of the cave. Then, deep within himself, he knew what he had to do.

Scorchtail stood above the dragons on a cliff outside Greyclaw's cave, "May I have your attention please?!"

All the dragons turned their heads to Scorchtail in wonder.

Scorchtail cleared his throat, "Greyclaw, bless his name, has just been brutally murdered by the unknown."

All the dragons gasped in horror. One male dragon cried out, "Who will be out leader now?" Talking broke out.

"Hey, listen to me!" cried Scorchtail over the crowd. The crowd went silent. "It is no longer safe here! That is why we must go to our ancestrial home, we must go to the Realm of Forever!"

A red dragon cried, "I bet this place doesn't even exist. Why should we listen to the hatchling anyway? He doesn't no anything!"

A yellow dragon cried, "Yeah! For all we know he could have murdered Greyclaw! I'm not going!"

"Me neither! He'll just lead us to our doom!" cried another dragon.

All the dragons began to agree.

"Fine, stay here! But I'm going, and I will find it and Greyclaw's murderer!" growled Scorchtail. He walked off towards his home and through the crowd.

"Good luck with that," replied a dragon sarcastically.

Scorchtail growled and walked into his cave where Bluetongue was waiting. He ignored Bluetongue and picked up three leather sacks with supplies in them, and he strapped them securely to his back.

"I'm going with you, ya' know," said Bluetongue.

"No you aren't; you're staying, besides, it's way too dangerous for you!" growled Scorchtail in protest.

"I think I would be safer with you than in this 'no longer safe' place," replied Bluetongue.

Scorchtail groaned, "Fine, but if you complain about being home-sick one time, then I'll tie you to a tree and leave you there."

Bluetongue nodded, "So... where are we going first?"

"To see a mole just outside the valley," replied Scorchtail, "You're riding on my back; you don't know how to fly yet." Scorchtail lowered his back down to Bluetongue.

Bluetongue growled, "Don't remind me." He climbed onto Scorchtail's back and looked at the three leather sacks strapped to Scorchtail's back.

Inside the first sack, the smallest, was food supplies. The medium-sized sack consisted of liquid supplies. In the largest sack were other resources and one single dwarf who had sneaked into it.

Scorchtail slowly walked out of his cave and out into the valley. He spread his wings and took flight. He flew away with Bluetongue and Winley aboard as his long and challenging quest began.

Chapter 6: One Little Mole

The two dragons had long left their home and were wondering through the Forest of Mala, as dragons once called it, searching for this so called 'Chetin'.

"Why couldn't this Maelfront have been more descriptive?" asked Bluetongue.

Scorchtail shook his head as he looked at his 17th burrow yet, but none of them had caverns let alone moles. He yawned, a bit tired, as the forest became dark. He said, "I think we should leave."

Bluetongue yawned too, "I guess you're right..."

Scorchtail walked over to Bluetongue. Suddenly, the ground fell out from underneath the two, sending them into a hidden burrow.

Scorchtail quickly landed on the ground, but Bluetongue plummeted. Scorchtail quickly caught Bluetongue in his paws and set him down.

"You think Chetin's here?" asked Bluetongue.

"Get away, you trespassers!" squeaked a voice. A shady, brown mole hid behind a rock next to another small burrow.

"Chetin? We were told to find you..." replied Scorchtail.

"By who?" asked Chetin.

"Maelfront told us - " replied Scorchtail.

"- Maelfront?! That carnivore-monster owl! He had my family for dinner and almost had me too! Why would a predator like Maelfront send you to me?" shrieked Chetin.

"He told us that you could help us find the Realm of Forever," replied Scorchtail.

"Ah, the realm, you say? Yes, I can provide you with help," replied Chetin.

Chetin walked toward a rock and pushed it aside to reveal a mole-sized library. He pulled out a rolled up map. He unrolled it and pushed it towards Scorchtail.

Scorchtail looked down at the tiny map, "What do all of these colors mean?"

"Red areas are dangerous places, green areas are safe places, gray places are uncharted and possible dangerous places, yellow areas are mysterious places, and blue areas are places where an ally or two can be found, " replied Chetin.

Bluetongue nodded, "Could you write that down?"

Chetin immediately took out a pen and began writing, "Of course. Now nobody really knows where the Realm of Forever is, the stories just say that it is on a deserted island, so I went ahead and circled all of the islands on this map, so get searching!"

Bluetongue widened his eyes, "All of them? You do realize there's like a thousand islands in the whole world..."

"Bluetongue is right, we can't possibly search the world," said Scorchtail.

"Which is why I circled all of the big islands that are deserted. I suggest you make your way down southeast to the Island of Talahara, it's the closest island. Just follow the Pacific coast down and turn left. Got it?" asked Chetin.

Scorchtail nodded and reached out to grab the map, but Chetin swiped it away.

"I need payment first," said Chetin.

"Uh, I don't have anything to pay or trade with," replied Scorchtail, "But supplies in my bags."

Winley heard this from within his hideaway, and he knew he had to make a clean getaway. He slowly climbed out of the sack and silently landed on the ground behind Scorchtail's tail and disappeared to tell his master the news.

Chetin dug through the supply sack and pulled out a pointy stone, a dragon-sized dagger, and some firewood. He handed Scorchtail the map, "Nice doing business with you."

Scorchtail took the scroll and exited the burrow, Bluetongue following close behind.

Chetin went back to his library with his new things for his collection.

Scorchtail walked into a clearing and laid down, "We need to get some rest, the Pacific is far from here."

Bluetongue nodded as he fell asleep.

Scorchtail looked at the little scriblings on the colorful map that Chetin had given him for a small fee. He knew there was a long journey ahead of them.

Scorchtail thought about who had killed Greyclaw, maybe it was that dwarf the he swore worked for the mysterious Blackfang in some way. However, that dwarf wouldn't be strong enough to defeat Greyclaw, but who would be strong enough?

The sun disappeared, night fell, and Scorchtail fell asleep.

All was still except for a dwarf rushing through the Forest of Mala.

Intresting story, have fun writing it.

Just a tip...
Use bigger sections of speach and not (no idea what to call not speaking), less just going back and forth between 2 characters just to get lines.
Devlop the personalities of each main character more through action and response. Try to make them real to the reader.

Thanks.

Chapter 7: A Day in the Life of Blackfang

Blackfang stood in his castle throne room having a cow for dinner. Another dwarf stood in front of Blackfang. He had a big, baggy, mushroom-shaped hat on, and he had silver dreadlocks. He said, "Is it good, master?"

Blackfang swallowed the cow, but spit it right back out, unpleasantly encasing the dwarf in a pool of green saliva, "You call that food?! Winley was a better cook than you will ever be!!"

"Sorry, master, would you like a scorched eagle instead?" asked the dwarf slowly.

"No, Felnor! Those horrid things give me hairballs, and you know what it's like to clean that up..." growled Blackfang whose stomach was grumbling, "Forget the food, I'll go get my own food." Blackfang bulky body walked out of the dark throne room.

Felnor sighed and took out a large, wet rag and began to clean up the mess on the stone floor.

Blackfang stormed down the hall and forced the castle doors open with his shoulder. He stood outside in the cool, night breeze, "Huntin' time!"

Blackfang ran out into the dark forest of Malice. He soon spotted his prey: a large, gray wolf with golden streaks in its fur. He sprang at the wolf and pinned it down with his massive paws.

The wolf howled in fright and eagerly struggled to escape but to no prevail. Blackfang snapped the wolf's neck and swallowed it in one single bite. He stood up and belched loudly, therefore shaking the entire forest. He walked over to a large tree.

All the birds, animals, and insects knew what was coming, so they evacuated the premises of the tree. However, the archaebacteria and the eubacteria weren't so lucky.

Blackfang grinned nastily and raised his left hind leg above the tree to micturate. The dark forest suddenly became a major rain forest as all of Blackfang's urine poured out on the poor tree. The innocent tree slowly shriveled up and died.

Since there was no water in the Valley of No Return, Blackfang had to drink his own clidis, or dragon pee. He also had to use his clidis to contact people instead of using water. Speaking of contacting people, where was Winley?

Blackfang spit into his clidis, but nobody bothered to answer the impatient dragon. He growled, "Where is he?!" Blackfang growled and decided he would drink his clidis instead.

Blackfang lowered his large, long, black tongue down to his clidis, but a voice stopped him from below. "Master! I have news!" it cried.

"What is it?! You're late!" roared Blackfang at the image of Winley in his clidis.

"I know master, but the plans have changed: the dragons are looking for this place called the Realm of Forever..." explained Winley.

Blackfang gasped, "The realm? Where is it?"

"Well, I don't quite know yet; I just know that it is located on a deserted island. What is this place anyway?" asked Winley.

Blackfang grunted, "The homeland of dragons. I almost found it, but those rechid fools caught me before I could! When you get their, contact me and I will come."

"Yes, master, but please, before I leave, tell me that you've discovered some new type of water and that your using it to contact me this time..." said Winley.

Blackfang grinned, "No, it's clidis again." Blackfang didn't think that this was gross, he actually thought it was fine to use clidis to drink and contact people with, but his servants thought otherwise. They thought it was disgusting and unhealthy, and they said it was 'not sanitized'.

Winley gagged at the thought of it, "Okay then, but one day you're going to get sick from doing that!"

"Oh, shut your trap! Now go!" roared Blackfang.

Winley muttered and disappeared from the clidis.

Blackfang stood up and stomped through the forest's grass back toward his castle. Several insects and small animals screamed in terror as they were crushed by Blackfang's massive paws. Blackfang loved this; it made him feel powerful to be able to crush his enemies beneath his paws.

Blackfang opened the castle doors and walked back into his castle throne room. He laid down, "Felnor, close these curtains, I need my beauty sleep!"

Felnor rushed into the room and up to the large ropes keeping the window curtains up and lowered them to close the curtains, "Yes, master." He left the now dark chamber.

Blackfang laid down in the dark room. Would he finally find the Realm of Forever and destroy all of the other dragons? He closed his eyes and slowly drifted away into his evil dreams of his murderous ways.

Chapter 8: Lost in the Pacific

Winley had trouble getting back into Scorchtail's bag; when he got back from his message with Blackfang, Scorchtail had been laying on it. Because of this, Winley had to wait for the two dragons to awaken so that he could sneak back into the bag when nobody was looking. Now the trio was hovering over the waters of the Pacific Ocean's east waters.

"Where are we? What does the map say?" asked Scorchtail, turning his head back to Bluetongue.

Bluetongue perched on Scorchtail's back looking at the map. He looked over to where they were, "We left Mala an hour ago, so we should be close to Talahara."

"That's impossible, there's not a single island in sight! I think we're lost," replied Scorchtail as he turned his head back to what was ahead of them. He then remembered the scroll, "Pull a scroll out of my bag."

Bluetongue reached his paw into the bag, almost touching Winley, and pulled out the scroll.
"What does it say?" asked Scorchtail.

"It says:


"Close your eyes and tell me if you see anything," ordered Scorchtail.

"Nothing."

"Maybe we're not there yet," said Scorchtail, "Stay down, a storm's coming."

Ahead was a sign of lightning that pierced the sky to signal a storm's approach. Wind soared through the sky and the ocean waves crashed below.

"This looks like something much worse," said Bluetongue as the loud wind picked up, "It's like a strange force is pulling us towards it!"

And Bluetongue was right, for an invisible force was pulled them down towards the crashing waves. "Hold on! Keep your eyes closed!" cried Scorchtail over the wind.

Scorchtail flapped his wings hard in his best attempt to escape the rushing current, but he was only pulled back down again. Then he saw it; a big, green-misted hurricane had just formed on the waters ahead of him, and it was raging towards them.

"Watch out!" cried Bluetongue as Scorchtail was nearly struck by lightning. The three bags strapped to Scorchtail suddenly unwrapped and plummeted towards the ocean. "Our supplies are gone!" panicked Bluetongue.

Winley screamed in horror as he slowly plummeted along with the supplies. He crashed into the waves and cried in terror as struggled to stay above the raging waters. He grabbed onto a large log and drifted away on it.

Scorchtail's wings lost all power and shut down. He screamed in terror, "Hold on!" The hurricane's force sucked him towards it.

Bluetongue screamed as he lost his footing and slipped off of Scorchtail's back. He cried out, "Scorchtail!" Bluetongue soon disappeared into the storm.

"Bluetongue!" cried Scorchtail. Uh-oh, it's me next... thought Scorchtail as he said his prayers and was sucked straight into the eye of the storm. He closed his eyes in hope of something, anything; nothing.

Scorchtail suddenly lost consciousness as he was tossed around the inside of the storm. Right then, Scorchtail swore, maybe, just maybe, he saw land.

Chapter 9: The Island of Talahara

Scorchtail slowly awoke from his long slumber. His eyes widened; he was on a peculiar island. Then he remembered, "Bluetongue! Where are you?!"

Bluetongue stood nearby, "We've found Talahara! I saw it inside the hurricane." Scorchtail gave a sigh of relief.

"So... should we look for the realm?" asked Scorchtail, who wasn't sure what to do next. This place didn't look like it had any sign of dragons or their lairs. This island would be too small to be the Realm of Forever anyways.

"There's no realm, I already checked that, but there is a mysterious building. It's nearby; follow me," ordered Bluetongue. He approached the jungle.

Scorchtail followed Bluetongue through the tropical rain forest and into a large grove. In the grove stood a tall, menacing-looking, stone building with two destroyed windows. Vines grew all over it; this building must have been built in the late 1890's. Scorchtail slowly entered the building.

The building was dark, but Scorchtail's scaly, super-sharp night vision eyes could make out old books, boxes, and crates. Pictures and paintings were on the walls, and a loud "tick-tock" echoed throughout the room.

Bluetongue stared into the shadows, "I think I see something behind those brown crates." From the sound of this being said, a rustle came from behind the crates and a box nearly fell over.

Scorchtail gazed over to the stack of brown crates in the corner, "Is someone there?" He edged towards the crates and peered behind them. To his relief, it was just an old clock "tick-tocking". His good hearing caused him to look up to the ceiling in horror.

A figure in metal armor was above the top crate glaring at him. The figure was grasping a wooden spear and shield but was a little small to be a real knight. The figure hopped down to the ground and revealed that he was a twelve-year-old human boy dressed up as a knight. The little knight attempted to stab Scorchtail with his spear.

Scorchtail easily evaded the attack and snatched the tiny spear. He broke it in half in his blue muzzle and tossed it away, "Don't even try, knight. I won't hurt you, now, who are you?"

Trembling, the boy gulped, "This - this is my deceased parents' island; my name is Ray Melvin; I live here."

"Ray, huh? Why are you dressed like a knight?" asked Scorchtail.

"For protection; I never even knew that dragons existed. I'm not a dragon slayer," replied Ray as he dropped his shield to the ground.

"Well, my name is Scorchtail and this here is my brother, Bluetongue," -Bluetongue smiled, uncertain of this human - "We are searching for a place called the Realm of Forever; do you want to come with us or stay in this lonely place?" asked Scorchtail.

Ray though for a moment, "I've always wanted to ride on a dragon, and this place is very boring; I guess I'll go with you."

"Excellent. Where are we flying to next, Bluetongue?" asked Scorchtail, turning to look at his younger brother.

"We're headed west for the Island of Haluna," replied Bluetongue as he looked at the map.

Scorchtail turned back to Ray and lowered his back down to him, "Climb on and hold on tight."

Ray steadily climbed up Scorchtail as if he was climbing up a cliff on Mount Everest. He positioned himself in front of Bluetongue who was already aboard Scorchtail's back.

Scorchtail walked over to the exit, but Ray suddenly stopped him. "Wait! Can you grab that photo in front of you and give it to me?" he asked, "Can you grab my bag too?"

Scorchtail looked down at a black backpack and a picture of a human couple happily smiling next to each other on an island. He carefully picked up the photo with his paw and the backpack with his mouth. He gave them both to Ray.

"Thanks," said Ray. He put the picture in his backpack and zipped it back up, "I'm ready now."

Scorchtail walked out of the building and towards the ocean. He asked, "Which way's west?"

"We'd get there faster if we went east which is right," replied Bluetongue.

Scorchtail lifted off the ground and flew right across the ocean. So far they still hadn't found the Realm of Forever or Greyclaw's murderer, but little did they know that the killer would soon appear...

Good story.

Thanks.

Chapter 10: Stormer Appears

Winley opened his eyes to see that he had been washed onto the beach of a mysterious island. Next to him lay the log that he had grabbed onto all wet and destroyed. This log had saved his life from being drowned deep withing this 'Pacific'. Soon his memories came back to him as well as his mission.

Winley immediately sprung to his feet in panic. What would his master do if he found out that his foolish servant had lost the dragons? Winley shivered, but losing these dragons weren't the least of his worries; he was lost.

"Hello?" called Winley, but no one answered, no one was there, no one in sight. He rushed into the island's forest and up to a large stone building, but no one was there either, just a bunch of dragon footprints. Winley's eyes widened: Dragon footprints! The dragons had to be close. He ran down a path and tripped over a tree branch by accident, and he landed next to a large rock.

The ground began to shake as something large began to come down the path towards Winley. Winley heart pounded as he froze, petrified; however, some strange force allowed him to regain his senses and dive behind the rock in front of him and watch the strange creature come down the path.

As the figure approached Winley, he began to see was it was. This figure was a dragon, but it wasn't the ones he was 'following'. It was a black dragon with red horns, red eyes, red crests, and a red belly. The dragon had large, torn wings, a pointy, red tail spike, and rusty, gray shackles on his neck, ankles, and tail. The dragon didn't look much older that Scorchtail.

Winley gasped as the dragon turned his head towards his hiding place. When the dragon did this, Winley noticed one small, purple piercing in each of its two horns. Who was this mysterious dragon and what was he doing all the way down here?

The dragon squinted his eyes at the rock as if he could sense the dwarf's presence. After what seemed like forever, the dragon grunted and continued down the path in a hurry. After he had left the premises, Winley breathed deeply and slowly walked through some bushes.

Suddenly a loud roar echoed from behind him; the dragon must know that he is here. Winley panicked and rushed through the forest uttering, "Oh, why me? Why a fool like me?" Just for a second, Winley looked back to see if the dragon was following him, but he tripped once again and landed in a pool of quicksand on a path in plane-sight.

Winley looked forward and saw something large and black- there were four of them. Then he noticed that these things had four claws, three at the front and one towards the back. He looked up and saw that these things were paws and that their owner was the black dragon he had encountered not to long ago. He gasped in fright and tried to run, but the quicksand wouldn't let him.

The dragon grinned at the small dwarf in front of him as if to say 'This is amusing.' Then the dragon finally asked, "What is a dwarf doing all the way down in Talahara?"

Winley grinned his teeth and slowly responded, "Where should a dwarf be may I ask?" He was afraid of the answer.

"Well if you must know, you should be with Blackfang in his castle. If not that, then with Blackfang in his stomach," said the dragon as if he knew everything.

"B-Blackfang? Who are you and how do you know who Blackfang is?" asked Winley.

"Name's Stormer; I serve Blackfang for his own personal needs. Why did you desert your master, dwarf?" asked the dragon angrily as if no dwarf in the world should ever abandon the great dragon.

Winley gulped and looked down. He was sinking deep into the quicksand, "I'll explain later, now can you ple-ease help me out of here?"

Stormer chuckled quietly and lunged towards a small tree above the quicksand. He dug his fangs into the tree trunk and lifted the tree's roots out of the ground. He back over to the dwarf and placed the tree in front of him.

Gratefully Winley pulled himself out of the quicksand, "Oh thank you, black one. I am eternally grateful for your nice deed." Winley began to kiss Stormer's closest paw in mercy.

Stormer stuck out his claws, "Back away."

Winley gulped and obeyed him, "Sorry, sir."

Stormer put away his claws, "No tell me: Why did you abandon master Blackfang?"

"I didn't; he sent me to lure two blue dragons to him, but now he wants me to lead him to the Realm of Forever," replied Winley.

"I know all about them and their quest. I have been tracking them every since I took care of their old man, Greyclaw."

Winley silently gasped underneath his breath. Stormer puffed smoke out of the corner of his mouth and left without another word. Winley rushed after him, "Wait! I'm kinda lost, could I-"

"Hop on," Stormer rolled his eyes and sighed, "As if I don't need any more pests." Stormed lowered his tail down to Winley.

Winley slowly approached Stormer. He tried to climb up his tail, but he lost his balance and clutched onto Stormer's gluteus maximus's skin to regain his balance.

"Hey, watch it!" growled Stormer. He flipped Winley up onto his back.

Winley blushed with embarrassment, "Sorry." He slowly climbed up Stormer's back like he was climbing Mount Everest and perched on his neck, clutching his gigantic, red crest.

Stormer rolled his eyes yet again and approached the ocean. He took off into the sky to follow Scorchtail west.

Chapter 11: The Seven Shards Part 1

Scorchtail had reached Haluna an hour ago and was now searching for the realm when he came across a large, iron door on the side of a volcano. He tried to push it open, but it was locked.

"Maybe there's a key," offered Ray.

"There's no keyhole," replied Scorchtail. Indeed the door lacked a keyhole, all there was were some words:



"I wonder why dracology is in bold; what is dracology anyway?" asked Bluetongue.

"It's the study of dragons, this Chris guy must study them," replied Ray.

"I guess that means that he isn't a threat," said Scorchtail, "What does the scroll say, Bluetongue?"

"It says:



"What could that possibly mean?"

"I have a special thing for riddles," said Ray, "I've got it!" He showed his work in the sand.



"The code is logo card."

Scorchtail faced the iron door and cried out, "Logo card!" The ground began to shake, and a rock slid away to reveal a red button. Bluetongue pressed it, and the iron door creaked open.

"I knew we should have brought him along; maybe you could learn from him, Bluetongue," said Scorchtail.

Ray blushed. Bluetongue rolled his eyes, "I wonder if this Walter guy is here..."

"Probably, " replied Scorchtail as he entered a huge laboratory full of boiling test tubes and sketched diagrams of dragons and their body structures.

The three slowly and silently searched the lab, but it seemed empty. Another door, this time with a doorknob, was in the room though.

Scorchtail opened it, but he immediately wished he hadn't. A huge, monstrous dragon with 9 heads sprang at him and pinned him to the ground.

"Scorchtail!" cried Bluetongue.

The dragon breathed in Scorchtail's face sending toxic fumes into his nostrils, "Time to die, dragon!"

Scorchtail gagged as he soon realized that the dragon's breath was poisonous. He held his breath and waited for someone, anyone, to come to his aid.

Chapter 11: The Seven Shards Part 2


The dragon hissed and struck at its captive, but, just before it pierced Scorchtail's face, an electric zapper zapped it. The dragon hissed in rage as an English man with a white lab coat lured it back into the room and slammed the door shut. The man turned to Scorchtail, "Sorry about Gunhead, hydras are always stubborn. My name is Dr. Chris Johnson Walter, but you can call me Dr. Walter; I am a dracologist, as you can tell."

Scorchtail stood up, "Well, thank you for saving me from Gunhead, Dr. Walter."

"No problem. Now, what brings you to my lab?" asked Dr. Walter whose curiosity got the better of him.

"We're looking for the Realm of Forever," said Bluetongue.

"Ah, so you have the shards?" asked Dr. Walter.

"The what?" asked Bluetongue who was completely dumbfounded. Ray and Scorchtail looked at Dr. Walter confused.

"Oh goodness, you mean to say that you're searching for the realm, and you don't even know about the Seven Shards of Ragnar?" asked Dr. Walter who was unimpressed with his crowd. After both the dragons and Ray shrugged, Dr. Walter led them over to a table. An ancient sword pierced a scroll into the table. The scroll showed seven strange artifacts.

"Ragnar was a special dragon: he was the first dragon. He lived alone in the realm and decided that in order to protect it from his enemies, a key would be needed. So he crafted a stone sword known as the Sword of Ragnar, and he struck it into seven shards. As his kingdom grew, he had his servants take these shards to different lands and hide them there. When put together, these shards open the entrance to the Realm of Forever. I actually have one he in my lab," explained Dr. Walter.

"Really?" asked Ray, "I have one too!" He pulled out a small, triangular-shaped shard out of his bag, "I found it on the shores at home years ago; I never really knew what it was."

"Two down, five to go," said Dr. Walter as he pulled out a square shard and handed it to
Ray, "What are you doing down here with dragons anyway? Don't you have any parents?"

Ray was silent. He gave Dr. Walter a sorrowful look.

"Oh... I'm sorry about that. Would you like to live with me and my wonderful family?" asked Dr. Walter.

"Thanks, but no thanks," replied Ray.

"Okay then. Now the closest shard is on the island of Mabama in the Caribbean to the east. You will have to cross a small portion of land between North and South America, though. I recommend hiding in the clouds," explained Dr. Walter.

"Okay. It's on our map," said Bluetongue as he pulled the map out and showed it to him.

"This is an extraordinary piece of information designed just like Renaissance art. It's delicately drawn, who, may I ask, made this delicate work of art?" asked Dr. Walter.

"A mole," replied Scorchtail.

"A mole... how interesting. I must jot this down," said Dr. Walter. He took out a notebook and began to scribble down, "Moles... can... draw..."

Bluetongue put the scroll away, "So what is with Gunhead?"

Dr. Walter put his notebook away, "Gunhead's a hydra that I managed to catch and examine. I have to keep him locked up in here because he can't control himself. My other specimens are loyal and are studying the world right now. You may find some on your quest."

"Can you give us a list of the locations of the shards?" asked Ray.

Dr. Walter took a list out of his lab coat, "There are only two other known locations of shards in the world, that leaves two others that you must find on your own."

"Okay, thanks Dr. Walter. We're leaving, " said Scorchtail as he took the list, shards, and map and put them into Ray's bag. He couldn't help but notice the picture of Ray's parents. Their gorgeous smiles filled his heart with sorrow as he remembered his parents. His mind flashed back.

A young, blue dragon was sitting in a cave with a blue hatchling when he saw two large, blue dragons outside. "Scorchtail..." they called.

"Ma... da?" called Scorchtail as he went outside and approached the dragons.

"Hello, Scorchtail," said the female dragon.

"Ma? What's happening?" asked Scorchtail, "Is something wrong?"

"We're going away for awhile, son," replied the male in a deep, stern voice.

"When will you be back?" asked Scorchtail who was afraid of the answer.

"Only time can tell. Take care of Bluetongue, we love you," said the female. Both the dragons stepped back into the sunlight and vanished into it like angels.

Scorchtail wept and cried out, "Ma! Da!"

"Scorchtail, is something wrong?" asked Bluetongue who had noticed Scorchtail's dilemma.

Scorchtail immediately realized that he was standing with his snout in Ray's bag and tears dripping all over his face. His face went red with embarrassment. Scorchtail wiped his face and looked at Bluetongue, then Ray, then Dr. Walter, "Sorry, I'm fine."

"Good; I thought that you were in a trance," said Dr. Walter, "You must be going now."

"Of course," said Scorchtail as he made his way out of the laboratory.

"Bye, Dr. Walter! I hope we meet again," said Ray as he and Bluetongue scrambled onto Scorchtail's back.

"I think we will," said Dr. Walter.

The three companions exited the volcano. "Get some resources and we'll leave," ordered Scorchtail.

Ray and Bluetongue hopped off of Scorchtail's back. Ray muttered, "What was that all about back there?"

"I think I know why he was like that," said Bluetongue.

"Why?" asked Ray, but Bluetongue didn't reply.


"We're leaving so that we can beat those dragons to that shard," said Stormer. He and Winley had eavesdropped the dragons' whole conversation with Dr. Walter and were just about to take flight.

"Okay," said Winley. His master would most surely be pleased with his progress.

And without another word, Stormer took flight to the island of Mabama.

Chapter 12: The Island of Mabama

Scorchtail slowly landed on top of a large, rocky slope dangling over the blue sea. The island's jungle lay ahead and among those tangled vines stood a large temple.

"Do you think that shard is in there?" asked Ray.

"We're not going to find out from just standing out here. Where's the entrance?" wondered Scorchtail. For indeed there wasn't an entrance in sight.

"The scroll says:

read Bluetongue.

"There's another path down there. I think I know where the entrance is," Ray began to draw in the sand:

Templelllllllllll/llllllllllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllllllll/llllllllllllllllllllll
Ledge`llllll/llllllllllllllllllllllll
lllllllllllllll `OlllllDotlllllllllllll
llllllllllllllllllTreeslllllllllllllllll

"The tree..." said Scorchtail as he looked behind a large oak. "There's a passage down here."

The three walked down the secret passage within the oak tree until they reached a large chamber with two paths. Above the right one was a symbol of the sun, the left had a moon.

"We should g down the sun path unless you want me to be old and cranky, and I get really cranky really fast," joked Scorchtail, "Sun for hot."

So the three traveled down the sun path. Rocks fell and collapsed in the moon path, and it caved-in.

"Sounds like we chose the right path," said Ray.

The sun path led to a large, frozen pool. Within the depths of the pool stood a sunken table. On the table sat a vase, and within the vase lay a pentagon-shaped stone object - the third shard.

"Should we melt it?" wondered Bluetongue. He looked at his older brother.

"No. That would be too obvious. This must be a trick. There must be some other way to get that shard without melting the ice," suggested Scorchtail.

A golden word painted the wall: Icefire Next to icefire was a stone block sticking out of the brick wall. Scorchtail pushed the block back into the wall.

The wall shook and a silver pipe projected toward the frozen pool. Blue flames shot into the ice, but the ice didn't melt.

Bluetongue placed his paw on the ice and was shocked when it mysteriously fell into the cold, chilling water. The ice didn't break at all. Bluetongue looked at Scorchtail and Ray for an answer.

"The icefire is defying matter itself! It's freezing and melting the ice at the same time, therefore allowing us to reach through solid matter," explained Ray. The two dragons looked at him with a puzzled loke on their faces. "It's like walking through walls. I studied physics when I was ten..."

"Sounds like we have a scientist, and not just any scientist: an intelligent one," said Scorchtail to Bluetongue. Scorchtail looked at the vase encasing the shard, "I think the vase is made of water, too."

Bluetongue lowered his paw into the cold water and forced it right through the vase. He clutched the shard and pulled it out. He handed it to Scorchtail, "Three down, four more to go."

Scorchtail took the shard from Bluetongue. He leaned over to put the shard into Ray's bag when someone stopped him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the foolish trio!" said a voice. A black dragon entered the room from the sun path.

Before anyone could reply, the dragon glared at Ray and continued, "Ah, the young boy who's joined these worthless dragons in search of a family. Pitiful!"

Ray looked down shamefully.

The dragon looked at Bluetongue, "Who do we have here? The young dragon, the guide of the group? The dragon who wants to be better than anyone. Jealousy will end your life, boy."

Bluetongue growled and frowned. Then the dragon looked into Scorchtail's silver eyes, "The mature one. The one who thinks he's a hero but can't even breathe fire! Pathetic!"

Scorchtail growled angrily and charged at the dragon in rage. He swung his claws at the dragon.

The dragon snapped his fingers just in the neck of time. Scorchtail froze as time stopped. "Not so fast!" he took the shard from Scorchtail, "I'll take that!" He grabbed Scorchtail and forced him to face the pool of ice. He approached the icefire pipe and smashed it apart, returning the pool back into its frozen state.

The dragon walked over to a star path on the opposite side of the room. "This is where we part ways! So long, dragons!" cried the dragon as he snapped his fingers again and disappeared into the passage.

"Woah!" cried Scorchtail as he fell on the ice and shattered it. The chamber shook as large pieces of debris fell from the ceiling and collapsed the star path.

"Hop on!" cried Scorchtail. Ray and Bluetongue sprang onto his back, and he rushed off down the sun path.

Scorchtail ducked under a large, falling stone and gazed ahead. The exit was in plain-site, so close...

A large knife came down and slashed the path in front of Scorchtail and blocked the way out. A large boulder popped out from the back of the tunnel and rolled towards them. Scorchtail flew up above the boulder, and it crashed through the knife and formed a hole in it. The ball rolled out of the tunnel, and it continued to roll away outside.

Scorchtail rushed through the hole and back out of the oak just as the temple collapsed.

"We lost the shard..." said Ray in disappointment.

"We'll get it back," replied Scorchtail.


Winley had been told to stay put outside. He was sitting outside the oak when he saw Stormer flying away. "No, wait!" he cried, but Stormer had already left. The dragons were approaching the exit.

Winley ran as the dragons grew nearer. He panicked for a place to hide: nothing.

"Is that who I think it is? It's the dwarf from back home," Scorchtail stood in front of Winley, "He's been following us the entire time!"

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence! Why do you have such a big problem with dwarves anyways?" asked Bluetongue.

Scorchtail didn't respond; instead, he growled, "I'll kill him!"

"Wait! I think he's innocent, Scorchtail," said Ray, "I think he's lost."

"He told me his name was Winley," said Bluetongue.

"Well, Winley, are you lost?!" growled Scorchtail.

Winley opened his mouth, but no words came out. He dipped his head to the ground.

"Well?!" growled Scorchtail. After Ray and Bluetongue looked at Scorchtail, he lowered his temper and said, "Fine, get on."

Ray raised Winley up onto Scorchtail's back. Winley regained his wits as he clutched Scorchtail's spike. He was liking this new human a lot.

"Don't think you're off the hook, dwarf, I'm still watching you," said Scorchtail to Winley.

"Uh-he-he-he..." Winley chuckled nervously.

"We're going to -" said Bluetongue.

"No! Don't say it in front of these ears!" growled Scorchtail.

"Fine! We're headed for the southeastern South America for this rain forest," replied Bluetongue.

Scorchtail took to the skies and flew southwest towards South America.

Chapter 13: The Jungle Crook Part 1

It took around six hours to get to their destination: the Amazon rain forest. It was midnight by the time they got there, and they were all very tired, so Scorchtail found a safe spot to sleep, and they all fell asleep except for Winley. It had been three days since he had last talked to his master. What would his master think of him?

For ten minutes, Winley sat behind the trio leaning against Ray's back pack pondering on what to do. Should he talk to his master about all that had occurred even thought he probably wouldn't give a rip about what happened to him during those three days? Blackfang could really hurt his feelings sometimes. Maybe he should tell his master how he felt? Winley remembered what happened the last time a dwarf told his master how they felt.

Winley gulped. Maybe he should just not talk to him. No, he'd be enraged. Perhaps he could just run and hide somewhere and find a family of his own, but Blackfang would surely find and devour him. Even if he did decide to talk to him, Blackfang would still be furious from Winley's lack of punctuality, so, no matter what he decided to do, the Evil One would still be angry with him.

Winley decided he would speak to Blackfang tonight. He stood up and checked to make sure no one was watching especially Scorchtail. Nope, they were all still asleep. Winley quietly snuck away into the jungle. Now he just had to find water, which wouldn't be a challenge since this was a rain forest.

Winley listened for running water and discovered a large river nearby. He climbed up a large rock and squealed with fright when he saw a large anaconda coiled up next to a tree. This was creepy to Winley, but it wouldn't be any scarier than an ant would be to Blackfang. Winley walked as far away from the snake as possible and located the river. He knelt down in front of the wide, green river and spat into it.

An image formed in the murky water and showed Blackfang inside his throne room. Felnor was on the floor busily scraping at Blackfang's claws with a file. Blackfang was looking into a bucket of water which was what the image was appearing in.

"What in the name of Ragnar has been taking you so long?! You're interrupting the pedicure part of my daily spa!! I want to clean if you don't mind!" Blackfang stomped his paw angrily and nearly jabbed Felnor in the head with his middle claw.

Winley breathed in deeply. He thought of what he was going to say and spoke, "Sorry, master. I just haven't had the time-"

"Had the time?! What on Earth has happened over the past three days that would enable you to be on time to our meetings then?" shrieked Blackfang in rage. He glared at his servant angrily.

"Well, I've made a ton of progress! In order to enter the Realm of Forever, you have to have the Seven Shards of Ragnar. The dragons I'm following have already found three of them and will be searching for another one tomorrow. There are two shards that are hidden in uncharted locations," explained Winley.

Blackfang, who for one was listening to what his servant was saying, stirred uneasily, swallowed a large amount of saliva, awfully loudly, too, and awkwardly paused for a few moments. Then he began to tap his paw on the ground for support and said, "My pedicure is good enough, Felnor. Clean my teeth now."

"Yes, Evil One, sir," replied Felnor. Blackfang had awfully bad breath, and he knew it. As he walked past Winley's image in the water bucket, he muttered to him, "Oh, Ragnar! HELP ME!"

"What did you say, Toothpick?! Only I, the powerful Blackfang, may swear in my castle!" growled the Evil One, "Now get to work!"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," said Felnor who didn't like his new nickname one bit. He picked up a wet rag and, ironically, a toothpick. He approached his master's gaping mouth. He edged so close to it that he could count all of the golden teeth in his master's mouth if he wanted to.

"Good," said Blackfang in a positive sort of way, "Continue, Winley."

"Wait, master! Didn't you lose one of your golden teeth at the Battle of Marlinaut a few years ago?" asked Winley as he began to think back. He remembered that his master had been furious. He had said 'Grahhh!!!! I will find the fool who stole my precious tooth and make him wish he had never even dared to go to that battlefield!', but he never did. So he, Winley, had been ordered to find his master a new 'tooth'. He had found a large, fang-shaped metal and placed it in his master's mouth, and it stayed there ever since. Now he knew exactly what it was that he had put in his master's mouth. It was a shard.

Blackfang grunted, his way of saying "Yes", and he opened his jaw wider so that Felnor could reach is back teeth. He looked as if he was hiding something.

"You knew it was a shard, didn't you?" asked Winley, "You kept it a secret this entire time?"

"Of course I did, you twit! I know all about that geezer Ragnar and his precious shards! I'm at an advantage with those fools! I have one of the shards; without me, no one can get into the Realm of Forever! I don't want to lose a valuable jewel like this!" roared Blackfang.

Felnor's eyes widened as he looked up and saw the large, beautiful 'tooth' above him. He always had had a thing for jewelry and riches, especially gold; Blackfang had failed to notice this. He stopped cleaning Blackfang's bottom front teeth and climbed up to the magnificent shard. Maybe he could chip it somehow? Felnor clutched at the shard and pulled out a pick axe.

"Toothpick, why have you stopped cleaning my teeth? Get back to work, or you'll be in the middle of my toothgrit!!" growled Blackfang who had noticed a halt in cleaning. He sharply jolted his mouth.

Felnor lost his grip of the shard and plummeted towards Blackfang's large, slimy, purple-black tongue. He landed face first on it with a big splat, and he pulled himself up to his feet. Felnor grabbed the pix axe that he had dropped and put it away. He continued to clean the bottom teeth, "Sorry, master."

Blackfang frowned and glanced at the inside of his mouth to make sure his servant was working. He turned his gaze back to the bucket, "What's the description of the dragons? Have they grown any stronger?"

"Not really."

"Not really? What do you mean 'not really'?" questioned Blackfang.

"Well, they haven't gotten any stronger, but they do have a boy on their side now," explained Winley. He immediately wished he hadn't said anything.

Blackfang's eyes widened, and he edged closer to the bucket like a 3-D image coming closer. He said in a soft tone of voice, "A boy? A human boy? I haven't feasted upon one of those in centuries. I'm famished!"

"What?! You're going to eat him?!" shrieked Winley. He was beginning to like this boy for saving his life from Scorchtail.

Chapter 13: The Jungle Crook Part 2


"Of course I am! Why should I let him live if his friends will be dead? Besides, humans are my second favorite meal and are frightened by my stature even more than dragons are. Tales of men have described a dragon as one who eats innocent people and hoards treasure, and that I shall be!" exclaimed Blackfang, "What? You haven't grown fond of this boy, have you?"

Winley sighed. He felt like swearing just like Felnor. Me and my big mouth, he thought. What had he done?

"Well?"

Winley shook his head and muttered, "No Evil One."

"Louder."

"No Evil One!" he cried.

"Good! Now is there anything else you would like to disagree on?!" growled Blackfang menacingly.

Winley was speechless. He was still shocked about the boy's incoming death. After a few seconds, he gently and slowly shook his head.

"Good. Now, if you fail to be on time to our next meeting again, then kkkehh!" Blackfang raised his paw and made an invisible slice at his neck.

"Yes, master; I won't fail you," said Winley. What he did next would be very bizarre if you were a newcomer. He moved his index and middle fingers against his heart and formed a vertical diamond on it. This was called the Pledge of Loyalty, and it meant 'I pledge to follow and serve my master no matter where thou might be. For I will show my loyalty and obey thou to the ends of the Earth.'

"Wrap it up, toothpick!" growled Blackfang to Felnor, "Time for the washing part."

"Yes, master," said Felnor as he finished cleansing the last of Blackfang's teeth. He picked up his washing tools and hopped to the ground. Felnor began to climb up Blackfang's large, scaly leg up towards his back to wash his body.

"Don't fail me," Blackfang repeated once again. The image slowly began to fade away.

At the last second, Winley remembered the mysterious dragon, Stormer. "Wait master!" he cried.

"Oh, what is it now?!" growled Blackfang.

"There's this black dragon who claims he serves you for your own purposes. He's trying to collect all of the shards so that he can give them to you," explained Winley.

"Whoever he is, I don't have a clue with who he is! He makes one extra dragon for me to kill during my hunt!" replied Blackfang, "Now go!"

Winley bowed as the image faded away completely. He sighed as the green, murky waters of the river returned to normal. He turned around to leave, but he gasped in horror.

Scorchtail stood behind Winley, face outstretched in his face trying to see what was in the river. He growled, "Who were you talking to?"

Winley was trembling with fear, "Please, don't kill me!"

"Tell me who you were talking to or I will!" growled Scorchtail.

"I was talking to myself! I love to talk to myself!" lied Winley.

"Then why are you out here?" asked Scorchtail.

"I didn't want to wake you guys," replied Winley.

"LIES! All lies! Tell me why you're really out here or die!" growled Scorchtail angrily.

Winley was silent. He felt like crying. His cover was blown.

Scorchtail raised his paw to strike, claws outstretched.

"Wait! What if we could reach a compromise?" asked Winley.

"Like what?" asked Scorchtail.

Winley thought for a moment, "How about I tell you what I know, and you let me live. Ask me anything, I'll answer it."

"Fine," said Scorchtail, "Who killed Greyclaw then?"

"Okay," replied Winley, it was the black dragon, Stormer! He told me himself."

"Stormer..." said Scorchtail. His soul felt a need for vengeance. "Okay. Let this be a warning to you, dwarf. Do it again, then you're dead."

Winley sighed with relief. He was so close to being caught and killed. Winley walked off back to the camp fire, still avoiding the anaconda.

Scorchtail followed behind grumbling. He got back in his sleeping position. Suddenly, he heard two creatures approaching their camp.

Two men with red stripes of paint below their eyes, tiki charms around their necks, and lanterns in their hands walked into the camp. They gasped when they saw the dragons.

"Dragons! Dragons! Correr de su vidas! (Dragons! Dragons! Run for your lives!)" one of the men cried in Spanish. They both rushed off into the forest screaming to the top of their lungs.

Scorchtail thought about chasing them. Nah. "Go to sleep, dwarf. Don't try to pull a fast one," he whispered to Winley, "And don't tell them about our little talk. We'll keep this predicament to ourselves."

Winley sat down and leaned against Scorchtail's stomach.

Scorchtail jerked to the side and growled at Winley.

Winley's body crashed to the ground. He grumbled and decided to lean against Bluetongue's back instead. He had thought that being Blackfang's servant since the day he was born couldn't get any worse, but now it had. He remembered how he was supposed to have been killed by his master for not having a 'special' talent. Blackfang had told him when he was just a little toddler that he would be his 'specially close and trusted' adviser during the Naming Ceremony. He had stayed like that ever since.

Winley remembered how his master had brutally murdered his parents for no particular reason. He had been pushed around to supply the Evil One with food, water, shelter, and other services. He was glad he wasn't in Felnor's shoes anymore, but he was still a slave to the monster. 'A slave destined to die' his master had once told him. Now he desired to be a slave destined for freedom.

If only there were someone bigger and stronger than Blackfang who could stand up to him. Maybe all he needed was courage, belief, and friendship. So far he hadn't made any friendly relationships with anyone except Ray, just conflicts. Blackfang wasn't that big and bad. After all, he was just a monstrous beast bent on destroying all living creatures. How bad was that?

Blackfang had always been a monstrous murderer and a brutal dragon-slayer his entire life, at least that was what everyone assumed. In fact, he was so evil that he was nicknamed 'the Evil One', and rumors of Blackfang killing his own parents were spreading throughout dwarf-kind.

Winley wasn't sure if that was true, and he didn't want to find out. It was very late now,and he needed his sleep, so he emptied his mind of all thought and fell asleep.

Little did they know that they were being watched by two red, black-scaled eyes.

"Traitor," growled the figure as it rushed off into the night wind.

Woah, what happened to all of my readers?