Defeating Darkness

Chapter 3

As I struggle to fall asleep, I think about the news King Gepredice told us today. I lay awake tossing and turning, but my body refused to shut down for the night. After a while, I got tired of just laying around and decided to take a stroll through the castle. I quietly crept out of bed and went to the door. I gently pressed my ear to the door to listen for any sign of a guard’s footsteps. There was none. Just to make sure my ear weren’t deceiving me I opened the door a crack and peered out into an empty hallway. I smiled to myself then crept into the quiet hallway. As I closed my door, I heard the sound of bare feet shuffling on the stone floor coming up behind me. I froze in my position.

“Don’t worry Esboney, it’s just me.” Hearing Laxis’s voice sent a wave of relief flow through my body. “Can’t sleep either, huh?”

“No. I was just going for a walk. Would you like to join me?” I asked, trying to see his face clearly through the darkness.

“Alright, it will help me get my mind off things.” 

I smiled and step away from my bedroom door. As we started our journey through the castle corridors, I noticed a strange picture hanging on the wall.

“If we could ju…,” Laxis stopped mid-sentence when he noticed the strange image. 

On the canvas were dragons, and lots of them. They were flying freely in the wild. But there was something different about these dragons. They were missing three teeth on the top of the their mouth and four on the bottom, their tails were oddly short, and they were missing three of their neck spikes.

“What are they?” Laxis asked mystified. 

“I don’t know. I’ve never read anything about them or heard tell of them before.”

“They are a rare species called Hiyladragons.” Laxis and I froze in our places. “Don’t worry I don’t mind your wandering. I would have done the same, had I been in your position.” We turned to see King Gepredice standing in his nightwear.

“Could you tell us more about them?” I asked, still curious

He thought about it before finally saying: “Oh alright. Follow me back to my study, and I’ll tell you a little bit of their history.”

We walked down the corridor that lead to the King’s halls, and past Emara still sound asleep. The King’s guards opened up the doors and we quietly walked into the King’s study, trying not to wake Emara.

“Okay, please take a seat,” said the King pointing to two chairs set in front of his large desk. “Now, what would you like to know?” Laxis and I exchanged a glance and I nodded for him to go first.

“Alright ,I guess I’ll go first then. Who were the Hiyladragons ancestors?”

“Ah! A wonderful question to start with. Let’s see, two millennia ago before the age of the humans, dragons were widely populated. They were predators to all living creature, except one. We call them the “Vylatera” or “Dragon Hunters”. They were known for attacking, and often killing, dragons while they were sleeping. But one night, the dragons attacked the Vylatera’s nest in hope to, once again, be the top of the food chain. The dragons killed many Vylatera that night, but many brave dragons died as well. The dragon leader, Juhgiy, had everything under control until, a young female dragon by the name of Lyphia thought she could out-wit the Vylatera’s nest leader. She was wrong. The nest leader heard her coming up behind him, and he caught her under the jaw with one swoop of his spiked tail, knocking out four of her monstrous bottom teeth. Hearing her cry of pain, a young male dragon called Hytiph came to rescue her. After passing a large group of hiding dragons, a Vylatera attacked him. They began a battle of pure strength and strategy, while Lyphia lay on the ground at the mercy of the nest leader. Hytiph won the battle but not without some souvenirs. He lost three of his teeth at the top of his mouth and he lost half his tail. But his injuries didn’t stop him from helping Lyphia and defeating the nest leader, bringing the Vylatera to their mercy. Lyphia, along with her four teeth, also lost three of her neck spikes. After they were both fully healed from their injuries, they mated hence creating the Hiyladragons. 

“Is Hytiph and Lyphia still alive?” Laxis asked.

“Oh yes. Actually, when I was just a boy I got to meet Hytiph. It was an extraordinary opportunity.” Laxis and I stared in shock at the King. “Now, what would you like to know next?” 

After thinking it over I asked, “Are there many Hiyladragons left?” 

“Sadly no. They are close to extinction. Though there never were that many in the first place. There may have only been about fifty, in existence. Okay enough questions for tonight. I want you two to go back to your rooms and try to get some sleep before tomorrow. I’ll tell you more about the Hiyladragons some other time. Now go,” he said waving his hand towards the door. Laxis and I reluctantly stood up and headed for the door. “Oh and please don’t tell anyone about the Hiyladragons. As our one last gift to them, let us let them live in peace.” Laxis and I nodded in agreement and left into the hallway and a young guard showed us back to our rooms.